Chapter 217: Zhang Chun Gives Li Li Qingzhao a Big Pie

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"Ah... it hurts, it hurts..."

It hurt, but Li Li Qingzhao didn't dare to cry out.

Li Li Qingzhao was between laughter and tears.

At this moment, Li Li Qingzhao only had annoyance and endless resentment toward Zhao Yu in her heart.

'Wine misleads people and harms me deeply, teaching a good family girl like me to actually receive a tattooing punishment!'

Tattooing punishment usually involved using a knife or other sharp tool to carve specific patterns or characters on the criminal's face, forehead, or other parts of the body, and then applying ink or other pigments to leave a permanent mark after the wound healed.

Tattooing punishment appeared at the end of primitive society, mainly as a means of punishment for war captives of other ethnic groups.

During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, tattooing punishment was officially listed among the five punishments and became a commonly used punishment.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the use of tattooing punishment was even more widespread. For example, the Qin dynasty stipulated that tattooing punishment was often applied for criminal acts such as theft.

After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the status of tattooing punishment in the law declined, but it was still used in some special circumstances.

By the Zhao Song dynasty, tattooing punishment had a major revival and was often used to punish criminals or applied to people with low social status like soldiers (it was only abolished after Zhao Yu ascended the throne).

From the perspective of the rulers, tattooing punishment was, on one hand, to punish crimes and make criminals suffer physical pain and spiritual shame; on the other hand, by tattooing characters on the criminal's face, it made them easy to identify, serving to prevent recidivism and warn others.

For criminals, the shame brought by tattooing punishment was lifelong and would seriously affect their social status and life. Even after serving their sentence, the marks on their faces would make them suffer discrimination in society, making it difficult to reintegrate into normal life.

Li Li Qingzhao truly didn't expect that one day, she would also receive this kind of punishment that would make her suffer discrimination for the rest of her life.

The only thing that made Li Li Qingzhao feel fortunate was that this tattooing punishment was not applied to her face, but in a place that outsiders couldn't see at all. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the face to live in this world.

Even more tragic was that after receiving the punishment, Li Li Qingzhao still had to accompany Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, Ma Xiao Jiao, and Yuan Qing Cheng to serve him.

And it was precisely because of this intimacy that Li Li Qingzhao, who was originally extremely depressed and indignant, discovered something she hadn't expected!

—The five women also had tattooing punishments!!!

Li Li Qingzhao looked carefully, and on the left side of all five women was the character "Yu," while on the right side was the character "Slave."

Li Li Qingzhao was so smart that she immediately realized this matter wasn't that simple.

Therefore, in the middle of the night, Li Li Qingzhao tiptoed out of bed, asked the palace servants serving on the side for a lantern and two mirrors, went to the latrine, took off her pants, and looked!

'Sure enough, it's exactly the same!!!'

Li Li Qingzhao had already confirmed that she had been deceived. Zhao Yu and the others had played her; they were teasing her!

Li Li Qingzhao immediately returned to the bedside and looked at Zhao Yu, thinking of how he had not been tender at all, completely ignoring her pleas and insisting on giving her the tattooing punishment, and how abominable he had been when he personally applied the punishment to her. She couldn't wait to rush onto the bed and bite Zhao Yu hard.

At this time, the female guard on night duty looked at Li Li Qingzhao, who was a bit abnormal.

Seeing this, Li Li Qingzhao, not wanting to cause trouble, hurriedly got back into bed.

Seeing that Yuan Qing Cheng had briefly left Zhao Yu's arms because she turned over to adjust her sleeping position, Li Li Qingzhao hurriedly crawled over to occupy this treasure land and held Zhao Yu tightly.

By the time Yuan Qing Cheng adjusted her position and wanted to hold Zhao Yu, there was no chance. She could only hold Li Li Qingzhao as if she were Zhao Yu...

……

The next day, after getting up early, Li Li Qingzhao found an opportunity to pull Ma Xiao Jiao, who was the most honest, to the side and asked her, "Why did we receive tattooing punishment?"

Ma Xiao Jiao also followed the others to tease Li Li Qingzhao, "Naturally, it was received for committing a crime and being punished."

Li Li Qingzhao's eyes rolled, and she asked, "What crime did you commit?"

"I..."

Ma Xiao Jiao stammered, "I just... committed... um... the crime of deceiving the Emperor."

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao's inability to lie, how could Li Li Qingzhao not know that she had guessed correctly?

Li Li Qingzhao advanced by retreating, "I thought I was closest to you, sister, and came to you first to solve my confusion, but I didn't expect you to tease me too. I count it as seeking help from the wrong person; I won't ask anymore."

Ma Xiao Jiao softened her heart for a moment and said, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, okay?"

Li Li Qingzhao continued her "green tea" act, "Sister, please don't be troubled."

Ma Xiao Jiao rolled her eyes at Li Li Qingzhao and said, "If you want to blame someone, blame Chun-Wu Jie. She saw Xiao Xiao Puxian Nv being so 'involutionary'..."

Li Li Qingzhao interrupted Ma Xiao Jiao, "What does 'involutionary' mean?"

Ma Xiao Jiao explained to Li Li Qingzhao, "The so-called 'involution' means 'competing without limits, struggling without end.' Everyone competes for learning, for business, and for all kinds of things, fearing they will fall behind. The situation is like the wind rolling away the clouds, unstoppable, but it is excessive and disorderly, exhausting one's heart and strength, and yet it does not stop. It is 'the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains,' everyone fights, it is also like this, wasting energy in vain, and not necessarily getting good results. This state of 'involution,' although it has the meaning of making progress, is excessive and lacks peace; it is not 'harmony without uniformity, competition with restraint'."

Li Li Qingzhao understood. She asked, "Is it that Imperial Consort Zhang and Imperial Concubine Xiao are competing, and I am the fish in the moat?"

Ma Xiao Jiao said unhappily, "We are all fish in the moat."

After Ma Xiao Jiao's narration, Li Li Qingzhao finally knew that it was because after Xiao Xiao Puxian Nv arrived, she was too "involutionary," which gave Zhang Chun a deep sense of crisis.

Thus, Zhang Chun found an opportunity to bewitch Zhao Yu into tattooing the two characters "Yu Slave" on her buttocks, claiming she was Zhao Yu's slave to demonstrate her loyalty, hoping to please Zhao Yu and win back a round.

Crucially, Zhang Chun not only did this herself, but she also bewitched Zhao Yu into tattooing the characters "Yu Slave" on the buttocks of all the concubines he liked.

The first batch of victims was the other four women.

Honestly, the four women didn't want to suffer this crime at the beginning.

Moreover, as modern people, how could the four women not know what this meant?

Ye Shi Yun immediately retorted to Zhang Chun without politeness, "Why don't you just let the Emperor tattoo 'Succubus' on our lower abdomens!"

Yuan Qing Cheng also firmly opposed, "You want to be a slave, you be one, don't bring me along. I don't have such a hobby!"

Ma Xiao Jiao echoed, "Tattoos hurt so much, I won't get one!" Even Li Lin said, "Soldiers like to get tattoos on their bodies because they are afraid that if they die in battle, their faces will be damaged and their identities cannot be identified, so their bodies cannot return to their homeland. Tattoos can be used as identification to seek returning to their roots. What are we getting tattoos for? Furthermore, you still want us to tattoo these two characters. Isn't it shameful?!"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chun said leisurely, "I see the Emperor likes this style, and he even said he wants to tattoo these two characters on all the concubines he likes. By then, it won't be a matter of who is shameful, but who doesn't have it will be shameful."

Feeling that saying this didn't have enough force, Zhang Chun added, "Also, if I were the Emperor, I would think, this woman isn't even willing to endure this little pain for me, then she definitely isn't worth my favor. Send her to the Cold Palace."

Since Zhang Chun had said so, the four women immediately panicked and could only obediently and actively go to Zhao Yu, expressing that the two characters on Zhang Chun's buttocks were truly beautiful and that they also wanted the same ones.

Li Li Qingzhao, after hearing this, said angrily, "Imperial Consort Zhang has harmed me deeply!"

Ma Xiao Jiao comforted Li Li Qingzhao, "The feelings of all people are that they want to possess what they love, so they must add a mark to show their belonging. Although the Emperor is the supreme ruler, he cannot avoid vulgarity. Moreover, choosing a hidden place on the buttocks for the tattoo, there is no fear of being seen by outsiders, so why worry? Just let the Emperor follow his inclinations."

Looking left and right, seeing no one there, Ma Xiao Jiao lowered her voice and said to Li Li Qingzhao, "The Empress, Imperial Consort Wang, and Imperial Consort Guo are the same. Zhang Nan, Cai Cai Xuan, and others begged the Emperor for a long time before the Emperor personally tattooed these two characters for them."

Hearing that Zheng Empress Xiansu, Wang Wang Yisu, Guo Ting, Zhang Nan, Cai Cai Xuan, and others who were deeply favored by Zhao Yu also had this tattoo, Li Li Qingzhao suddenly wasn't angry anymore.

Moreover, Li Li Qingzhao was not only not angry anymore, but because she had the same tattoo as the concubines deeply favored by Zhao Yu—the five women, Zheng Empress Xiansu, Wang Wang Yisu, Guo Ting, Zhang Nan, and Cai Cai Xuan—she suddenly felt a bit proud.

After figuring out the cause and effect of all this, when she saw Zhao Yu again, that is, when she was eating breakfast with Zhao Yu, the look in Li Li Qingzhao's eyes when she looked at Zhao Yu was rippling with autumn waves, almost stringy.

Li Li Qingzhao knew what she had done, which was one of the reasons why she clearly didn't want to receive the tattooing punishment but still obediently lay there and accepted everything.

Unexpectedly, although Li Li Qingzhao had done these foolish things, Zhao Yu still didn't punish her, but also personally tattooed her with the precious tattoo representing favor.

This made Li Li Qingzhao feel an indescribable emotion and secret joy in her heart. She thought to herself, 'In the Emperor's heart, I may have a place. Even if I was immoral after drinking, this feeling doesn't seem to have diminished by half.'

Seeing Li Li Qingzhao not eating breakfast properly and just staring at him, Zhao Yu asked with a straight face, "Are there flowers on my face that make you stop eating and stare?"

Li Li Qingzhao, who wasn't very afraid of Zhao Yu in the first place, now had even more courage. She actually teased Zhao Yu in reverse, "The Emperor has the appearance of a dragon and the posture of a phoenix, how can ordinary flowers compare? Your concubine looks at you, her heart is yearning, and she doesn't know the taste of food, so she stares incessantly."

Li Li Qingzhao dared to joke with him, so how could Zhao Yu not know that she must have known what that tattoo was about?

Zhao Yu thought, 'It seems she still hasn't learned her lesson.'

Thinking of this, Zhao Yu said to Zhang Chun, "Take her there later."

After saying this, Zhao Yu gave Li Li Qingzhao a meaningful look and then continued to eat by himself.

There is a saying, don't be afraid of being scared, be afraid of not knowing.

Zhao Yu played like this, so how could Li Li Qingzhao eat this meal?

Li Li Qingzhao regretted it a little. If she had known that Zhao Yu couldn't take a joke, she wouldn't have teased Zhao Yu. She really wanted to ask Zhao Yu, 'Is it too late for me to take back what I just said?' but Zhao Yu didn't give her this chance.

After eating breakfast, Zhao Yu didn't say anything else and left.

After sending Zhao Yu away, Li Li Qingzhao immediately asked Zhang Chun impatiently, "Where is the Emperor taking me?"

Zhang Chun said with a fake smile, "When you go, you will know."

Next, no matter how Li Li Qingzhao asked, Zhang Chun wouldn't say, and the other four women didn't know what it was about.

There was no other way, Li Li Qingzhao could only wait anxiously for Zhang Chun to finish tidying up and take her to the Yanfu Palace, which had only been partially built.

Arriving at the northern corner of Yanfu Palace.

Here stood a triple-layered pavilion with a golden plaque on it, inscribed with the three seal-script characters "Chongwen Pavilion."

The eaves of this building reached the clouds, and the owl-tail ornaments seemed ready to fly. The entire building was framed with steel, structured with cement, and windowed with glass. The carved railings were all decorated with dragon patterns, and the corridors were inlaid with mica. The glass gate was two zhang wide, fully displaying the imperial atmosphere.

Entering the pavilion, the dome was painted with the twenty-eight constellations, and nine layers of sandalwood bookshelves stood around the walls. The shelves were several zhang high, requiring vermilion-lacquered cloud ladders to climb up to retrieve books. Classics, histories, philosophies, and collections were arranged by category, wrapped in brocade book covers with yellow hemp paper, and filled with the fragrance of artemisia to prevent insects and moths. Hundreds of glass windows were specially set up, and the pear-wood desks were spread with Hui ink and Duan inkstones for copying and annotating.

This was actually a library.

Having arrived here, Zhang Chun stopped selling the secret and said bluntly to Li Li Qingzhao, "This time, in the conquest of Liao and the destruction of Xia, we obtained ten thousand volumes of classics, histories, inscriptions, oracle bones, and antiques. The Emperor has no intention of letting the cultures of the two places perish..."

Zhao Yu recovered the eleven prefectures of Yanyun and Western Xia, including the Qingtang region recovered earlier. Even though he implemented the Han-conversion order in these three regions, he did not completely destroy the culture of these three places, but ordered people to transport everything recorded with characters from these three places back to Dongjing Dongjing Bianliang for proper preservation.

However, Zhao Yu worried that in a few generations, there might be no one who understood the local characters or culture. After all, the Zhao Song dynasty had killed most of the high officials, nobles, gentry, and wealthy families in these regions, and the remaining ones, in order to survive, had also fled the regions where they once acted as tyrants and started to live under assumed names.

Under these circumstances, if another one or two hundred years passed, a portion of the cultural treasures that Zhao Yu had worked so hard to collect might completely vanish in the long river of history because no one could interpret them.

Therefore, Zhao Yu prepared to arrange for people to organize these things now and translate them into Han characters so that they could be passed down.

And Li Li Qingzhao was the person Zhao Yu had chosen.

Zhao Yu prepared to let Li Li Qingzhao lead the women in his inner palace to do this, which could be considered finding something for them to do, so they wouldn't be idle and go palace-fighting.

Of course, this was also because Zhao Yu's inner palace had women from everywhere, and among them were those who were familiar with their respective cultures, which was a condition not available outside.

After hearing what Zhang Chun conveyed about what Zhao Yu wanted her to do, Li Li Qingzhao's eyes lit up. She thought to herself, 'Isn't this "continuing the lost learning for the sages"? This is one of the greatest wishes of all scholars!'

Li Li Qingzhao asked busily, "Did the Emperor truly ask me to be responsible for this?"

"This matter should have been the responsibility of the Empress. However, firstly, the Empress has been staying behind closed doors recently and does not want to be in the limelight. Secondly, the Empress has important matters in the palace to oversee and has to teach the Crown Prince, so she has no time for this. Therefore, I recommended you to the Emperor. The Emperor also felt that your talent and knowledge were not bad, so he decided on you."

After a pause, Zhang Chun added, "You should know that this is something all scholars of our generation yearn for. If we recruited people from outside, countless great scholars would surely come uninvited. Now that you are responsible, you must not fail the Emperor's kindness."

Li Li Qingzhao was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "I will definitely do my best and will never fail the Emperor's high expectations, and sister's recommendation!"

Zhang Chun nodded and gave Li Li Qingzhao another hint, "If you do this well, when our Great Song has similar matters in the future, it will definitely be your responsibility. I will then memorialize the Emperor to find all the literature of our Great Song—classics, histories, philosophies, collections, astronomy, geography, yin-yang, medicine, divination, drama, crafts, agriculture, etc. —to compile a 'Hongwu Encyclopedia.' At that time, you can be the chief editor, leading the scholars, spreading the glory of our Huaxia civilization, and leaving your name in history for a thousand generations..."

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 218 =====