When we watch costume dramas, we often see something called "golden melon seeds", which is about the same size as the melon seeds we eat now, but it is indeed made of gold. If any concubine makes the emperor happy, the emperor will reward them with a "golden melon seed", and the concubines will be happy to die.
Some people will ask, what is this "golden melon seed"? "Golden melon seeds" are actually loose gold, which can be exchanged for money, with money, can the concubines not be happy? Then some people will say, will the emperor's concubines still be short of money? Do they have to desperately please the emperor for this "golden melon seed"?
In fact, in the imperial palace of ancient Chinese feudal society, only the empress and a few extremely favored concubines were really not short of money, and a large number of concubines were actually paid monthly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And this salary is counted, and they have no additional income, and when they run out this month, they have to wait for the next month.
The vast majority of these concubines were young girls who loved beauty very much, and in order to please the emperor, they had to keep themselves looking beautiful at all times. And maintaining a beautiful face is not just a matter of shouting empty numbers, but relying on real money and silver. The little monthly salary of the concubines can also maintain the daily expenses, and it is not possible to be more luxurious.
Speaking of which, you should understand, a handful of "golden melon seeds", the top of several months of monthly money. They can take this money and buy some beauty products to make themselves more youthful. The competition in the harem is no less than the competition in the court, and if you are not careful, you may be squeezed out by others.
If you want to get the emperor's favor for a long time, you have to constantly let yourself appear in front of the emperor with a beautiful image, how can you do without money? The second point is more important, the "golden melon seed" is a royal gift, which is of great symbolic significance, it represents the emperor's recognition of himself, and also represents his position in the harem.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the concubines will not go to the point of exhaustion, and will not take the golden melon seeds to exchange for money, but will carefully keep them. If the emperor repeatedly rewards the same concubine with golden melon seeds, it is a strong signal from the emperor, I like this concubine, and it is even possible to correct it.
We have all seen the palace fight drama "The Biography of Zhen Huan", and the harem struggle is going on all the time, and there is also a smell of blood. But the emperor's reward for golden melon seeds is not unlimited, after all, it is gold, not ordinary melon seeds, like the kind of situation of grabbing a large handful and rewarding it at will is very rare. Why?
A golden melon seed is about twenty grams, and if it is exchanged for silver, it is in the ratio of one to twenty, that is to say, a golden melon seed is equivalent to four hundred and two silver, which is at the end of the Qing Dynasty. This was equivalent to the annual salary of an ordinary official at that time, so the emperor would not reward the left and the right, and occasionally give a few grains, and the concubines would already jump up happily.
However, the actual number of seventy-two concubines in the three palaces and six courts was far greater than this, and there were still a few who could receive the emperor's reward. The vast majority of concubines were basically forgotten after the emperor had a night of blessings, and they could not leave the palace, and from then on they could only green light ancient Buddha, lonely and old for life. And those concubines who were not welcomed by the emperor or who made mistakes would be beaten into the cold palace and never seen again, until they finally died alone.