Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Climbing the Dragon and Attaching the Phoenix

Lian Xin handed her a piece of Ropa. Yu Shu sobbed twice, his eyes were red and swollen, and he murmured: "I want to enter the palace, not because I want to be a dragon or a phoenix, nor to be a concubine, but to let my Ama feel proud. After picking a show girl, no one dares to look down on him even if it's Xiao Chang Zai..." The warm sunlight shone on the ground, Lian Xin looked at Yu Shu in front of her, and couldn't help thinking of the stubborn and shy Ama at home, as well as herself.It turns out that different people can be so similar in how they treat their parents.

"I also want to be a daughter that Amma can be proud of, but only by protecting myself can I be happy with you. If you are convicted of stealing, not only will you not be able to help your Amma, but it will make your Amma sad, right? What..." Lian Xin stretched out her hand and gently placed it on the back of Yu Shu's hand, her soft voice carried a soothing force, "For you, Ama, I should be a kind girl." Yushu raised her eyes in a daze, and the girl in front of her had a warm smile on her face, like warm jade in spring, shiny and clear, with flawless texture.She seemed to be talking to her, but also to herself. In a trance, it seemed that spring rain was slowly flowing into her heart.

According to the rules in the palace, anyone outside the palace city, including the nobles of the royal family, courtiers and wives, are not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned.Therefore, those Elder Brothers and Gege who have moved out of the palace for many years, if they want to go back to the palace, they must first send someone to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and get a waist card before they can walk in the inner palace, and they can't stay for too long. At two o'clock in the morning, the morning court just came down in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.Many courtiers came down from the wide doorway, and what they saw was a huge square in front of the palace. After walking across the Inner Jinshui Bridge and passing through the heavily guarded Taihe Gate, they could see the Meridian Gate leading to the outside of the palace.Some officials walked out in a hurry, while others walked slowly in square steps, in twos and threes, and walked out of the palace along the corridor.

Yun Li bid farewell to the several officials who were traveling with him, walked around the snow-white marble railing, and slowly walked down the Danbi stone steps.Go through the middle and right gate alone, walk north along the vermilion palace wall, pass the blooming Cining Garden, and then go east, and you will see Shoukang Palace in front of you. The Shoukang Palace is on the west side of the Cining Palace, separated by two walls and a spacious corridor. It is a spacious apse. The main hall, Shoukang Palace, is in the middle, with front and rear corridors, and yellow glazed tiles with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain.It is seven rooms wide, and each of the five rooms has four doors with four double crosses and four bowls of water chestnut.There is a platform in front of the hall, three steps on the front, and one step on the left and right. There are four gilt bronze incense burners on the stage.There are card walls on the east and west mountains, each with a vertical flower gate.

Yunli walked through the hanging flower gate, and the warm incense smell from the hall came to his nostrils. Concubine Qin is sitting on the warm Kang in front of the west window at this moment, and there is a plate of walnuts in front of the table with cloud legs, each one is round and plump.A servant girl took a small hammer, lightly chiseled it open, and then neatly stacked it in a small dish. "My son, send my respects to Er Niang." Sunlight streamed in obliquely, casting a faint golden layer on the bright yellow brocade soft mattress.Concubine Qin raised her head and saw him, a kind smile appeared on her face, she waved to him and said, "Pingshen, come and sit by Er Niang's side."

Yunli walked over and sat opposite her.Concubine Qin squinted her eyes and looked at his facial features. The outline of the jaw became more and more obvious, as if she had lost weight. She couldn't help but feel distressed and said: "I won't see you someday, the military affairs in the flag must be very busy." Concubine Qin said, while pushing the small plate of walnut kernels on the table in front of Yunli, and then said to the servant beside her: "Go, give the honeydew melon and fragrant pears that Ili paid tribute to ten Lord Qi brought it." In Yunli's light eyes, there is a warm smile, "Every time I come to Erniang's place, Erniang will cook food in different ways. If I make my son's mouth tricky, when I return to the mansion, But Zensheng is good."

Concubine Qin covered her lips with a scarf, smiled and shook her head, "You child. If you like it, I will take a few people out of the palace and cook meals for you every day." After Concubine Qin finished speaking, she took his hand and remained silent for a while, then restrained her smile a little, looked at him firmly and said, "Er Niang has something to ask you. I heard that recently, Old Seventeen, you fell in love with a Girl, but she insists on getting someone to enter the palace for a draft, is there such a thing?" The petals that floated in from outside the window landed on Concubine Qin's temples, and Yun Li brushed them away for her, saying: "Who did Er Niang listen to?"

"Don't worry about who I listen to, you tell me first, don't you?" Yunli twitched the corner of her lips and nodded. Concubine Qin slapped him on the back of the hand, "What a fool, since you like her girl, why did you let her enter the palace?" "I originally planned to let her enter the palace, to win the favor of the emperor, and then to win the canonization of the queen mother for Er Niang..." Yun Li didn't expect that what he wanted to say would be clarified by Er Niang first. "Silly boy, Er Niang wants to be the empress dowager, and she also wants to be with your Huang Ama in the underground forever after a hundred years. But if you trade your happiness, he will blame me when he sees your Huang Ama." Concubine Qin said, gently stroking Yunli's shoulder, "What's more, what is more important than my son's happy and satisfied life? As long as you brothers are in harmony, as long as you are happy and healthy, that is Eniang's greatest wish." It's done." Concubine Qin said, pushing Yunli's hand, "As long as the girl in Qi, even if her family background is not enough, you like, and at the same time like you, Erniang will not object to you keeping her in around."

go find her. In the vast sea of ​​people, it is not easy to meet someone you love.Especially the nobles of the royal family, if they can put aside those vain fame and gain, and stay with each other wholeheartedly, it will be a rare blessing among the royal family's descendants. At this moment, the smell of the incense gradually faded away, a maidservant came over and opened the lid of the smoker, added some refreshing fragrant cakes into it, scalded it, and then the smell of Xifen came out.Concubine Qin stood beside the smoker cage, watching that figure with a kind smile on her face. "Your Majesty, is the servant talking too much?" At this moment, Yuan Shou came out from behind the screen and stood behind Concubine Qin.

"No, on the contrary, among the people who served in the past, you are the one who understands my heart the most." Concubine Qin smiled gently, her eyes became more kind, "You know, it doesn't matter whether it's status or glory. In fact, for a mother, nothing can compare with the happiness of her children. I hope the old seventeen can understand and cherish it. Bodhisattva bless..." Under the bright sunshine, Concubine Qin clasped her hands devoutly, chanting scriptures in her mouth, praying for her son who had gone far. If it hadn't been for the people from Wucheng soldiers and horses who reported that they had urgent business, Yun Li might have been outside Lian Xin's house at this moment after he came out of the palace.

The miscellaneous matters in the banner piled up like a mountain, and it would take half a day to deal with them.The young prince, who was usually rigorous, was sitting on an open chair in the yamen, looking at the servant minister who surrounded him, who was spitting, and was a little distracted.After he finished speaking for a long time, he realized that he wanted someone to record it first, and he couldn't help laughing secretly. After straightening the paperwork in his hand, the corners of Yunli's lips turned up unconsciously, he opened a page, calmed down, and began to concentrate on handling official duties. Time slipped away quietly, like this until the sun went down in the west, and then the night gradually filled up again, ending the day's business, and only going out of the yamen. There are very few pedestrians on the street, and the shops have already closed.On the spacious street, you can occasionally see the school captain patrolling the city, carrying a lantern, riding past, and saluting respectfully when seeing him.Night has fallen, and the magnificent Forbidden City begins to fall asleep. His own mansion is located in the north of Dongshou Road, West Street, Ping'anli, but Yunli led the horse, and unknowingly walked across Chang'an Avenue, to the east side of the city.He had never been to that narrow Nanshi alley, but he vaguely knew it was such a place from Yuanshou's detailed report, and there was an old locust tree planted at the door. The moonlight is like water. The red paint on the door was peeling off, revealing mottled white snowflakes.The horse tethering stone at the door was polished very smooth, Yunli tied the reins of the horse on it, raised his hand towards the door, and was about to knock, but found that it was getting late at this moment. Yun Li shook his head unconsciously with a smile, looked around, and simply sat down at the door. The night was a bit chilly, and a handsome and elegant man in kimono sat in front of the vermilion threshold, leaning against the brick wall, looking up at the full moon above his head.The silvery moonlight sprinkled the streets and alleys like chiffon, and even the fragrance of flowers fell silent, only the snorting of horses. After taking a bath, Lian Xin was only wearing a lotus-colored skirt with ruffles and a white gauze over her head. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders. She was covered with a quilt and sat on the bed reading a book. Lianrui was holding a stretcher covered with a snow-white scarf, sitting at the end of the bed embroidering. During the day, Ama handles the newly increased official duties, and Er Niang is also with her. She is so tired that she goes to bed early. Lian Rui embroidered a few times, pinched the blunt end of the embroidery needle, scratched her forehead, and asked how to place the needle properly.What Lian Xin taught her was what she had learned in Prince Guo's Mansion before, Rui'er was very caring and learned quickly. "By the way, sister, before I came in just now, I seemed to hear a noise outside the door." Lian Xin held the book and smiled without raising her head: "In this situation, who will come to visit? You probably mistook the sound of pounding medicine in the Rejuvenation Hall opposite for someone." Lianrui pouted her cherry lips, "That's not true, it seems that someone is really there, I clearly heard the snorting of the horses." Lian Xin casually turned a page of the book and continued to read.But for some reason, as his eyes fixed on the pages of the book, the rows of beautiful regular script characters on it began to become blurred, and he couldn't even calm down. The night wind slowly blows in along the open casement. Lian Xin put down her book, put on a shawl, and ran to the door with bare feet on a pair of embroidered shoes. "Sister, what are you doing?" Lian Xin looked back and said, "I'll go out and have a look!" After speaking, she opened the door and ran out. Rui'er sat on the bed holding the embroidery frame, touched her head incomprehensibly, and thought to herself, there is no one there, why should I go to see... The simple courtyard house, due to years of disrepair, the bricks on the wall are somewhat peeled off, and the corrugation on the top is incomplete, and some of the fallen ones are piled up at the base of the wall.There are two wells on one side of the West House, and a few leaves from the banyan tree next to it fell into the wells. Only one of the lanterns by the wall was still lit.Taking advantage of the moonlight, Lian Xin tiptoed to unlatch the door, and gently pushed open the red-painted door. If he hadn't practiced martial arts all the year round and had extraordinary quick reflexes, if the door was suddenly opened from the inside, he would definitely fall on his back.However, there was only a squeak in the ear, and the people outside the threshold immediately sat up in shock. The horse tethered to the tree just snorted at this moment, raised its front hooves and stomped, as if laughing at the master's never-before-seen embarrassment.When Yunli stood up, she put one hand behind her back and coughed lightly. Lian Xin didn't expect there to be someone outside the door, she was startled for a while, and then she burst out laughing after seeing the scene clearly, "It's so late, why is the prince here?" A few days later, we have not seen each other.I was quietly preparing for the draft at home, while he was busy with official duties and had little leisure time.We have agreed with each other, if there is no answer for a day, we will not see each other again for a day.However, it wasn't until he really stood here on this moonlit night with the fragrance of flowers, that Lian Xin realized that she had been waiting for such a moment, waiting for him to appear in front of her. Yunli looked down at her, "Why did you come out?" "Rui'er said, I heard noises outside, so I came out to take a look. It turns out that there is really someone!" Lian Xin's eyes were bright, and after she finished speaking, she blinked, and there was a trace of narrowness in her eyes, "Where is the prince, are you preparing?" Stay here all night?" Different from the meticulous hair bun in Fuchu, she is wearing a single gauze dress at the moment, and her long hair hangs down her shoulders. She is a little less quiet, a little more supple, and slightly playful. Really like a fifteen-year-old girl. "If you don't come out, you have this plan." He shrugged. At this moment, he saw a strand of her black silk tangled up with the lace of the shawl. He stretched out his hand unconsciously to help her straighten it out. His warm fingertips stroked her long hair, which was very soft to the touch. . Lian Xin stood with her head bowed, her cheeks were a little red, "Has the lord met the concubine?" Yun Li nodded, and replied softly: "I've seen it." Lian Xin didn't speak, waiting for his next words. Yun Li looked at her, and said indifferently: "So I came here to ask you to prepare, there are still ten days before entering the palace..." Qingyun's voice was straight and flat, as if he was talking about an ordinary thing. Lian Xin froze, and after a long time, she raised her eyes in a daze, and looked at him with complicated eyes. Entering the palace was just for the draft... In other words, he appeared here just to tell himself that nothing had changed, and he still wanted her to enter the palace, draft, and then successfully become a concubine in the palace. The touch of the fingers in the hair is still there, but the temperature has long been lost.Lian Xin swallowed the bitterness, forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, my lord. This matter is... I promised my lord before. Great kindness is hard to repay, and Lian Xin is willing to fulfill my wish for my lord." She said After finishing, he bowed to him, turned around and was about to walk into the house. At this moment, Lian Xin didn't want to stay here any longer, regardless of etiquette or self-cultivation.But just as he took a step, Yunli grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.Lian Xin struggled, her strength was no match for the man's, she was a little annoyed, her eyes were red in a hurry. "A man and a woman can't get married, please let Prince Guo let go of the girl!" After Lian Xin finished speaking, she flicked her hand, and wanted to get rid of it, but she didn't want to be held tighter by him, "The prince chooses Fujin, and he has to go through the clan mansion, and the emperor and the concubine designate... So, we still have to enter the palace." Go to the draft..." Lian Xin didn't want to listen to him, but the voice pierced her ears, and she was stunned for a moment, "Choose Fujin?" Yunli didn't speak, nor let go, just looked at her with a smile. Clan mansion, draft, selection of Fujin... The selection of Eight Banners' beautiful girls is done every three years, presided over by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and can be selected for empresses and concubines.However, in addition to enriching the harem, it is also a marriage choice for the royal descendants.According to the rules of Manmeng, if you want to marry the prince, county king and their descendants, you have to go through the harem's draft.Appearance and talent, chastity and virtuousness—the selected ones will choose the best ones and stay in the palace to serve the emperor as concubines, while the lesser ones will be given to the royal descendants as Fujin. "In the future, when you enter the palace for draft, Er Niang will pick you out—" Lian Xin's ear tips were hot, she lowered her head, and bit her lip in surprise for a moment.When I heard him talking about the draft just now, I thought he was letting her into the palace, but he completely forgot the old rules in the clan. "The concubine, she..." Yun Li whispered in her ear: "Emiang said, it's not easy to find a lovable person in the vast crowd. Once you like it, you have to stay by your side." Lian Xin's cheeks became even redder, seeing that her wrist was still held by him, she struggled lightly, "You didn't even say just now..." Yunli raised her eyebrows, stretched out a finger and gently touched her cheek, with a hint of narrowness in her eyes, "It's Prince Guo and a girl, you didn't even give me a chance to talk about it." .” Obviously he was speaking by himself, leaving half of it on purpose.Lianxin slandered.But at the same time, there was a faint uneasiness in my heart.Concubine Qin's matter, is it really all right... "I will arrange for someone else to enter the palace, so the draft will not be delayed." He said softly, holding her in his arms. Lian Xin raised her face and looked at him with some emotion.How could she not understand?In the past, she was selected for the palace draft just because she had the same appearance as Fujin.Other women... If choosing a concubine was really that simple, they wouldn't have waited for so many years in vain, but they still haven't invited the emperor's canon. "My lord, wait for me." After Lian Xin finished speaking, she broke away from his hand, and suddenly ran back to the house. Because Yunli had been staring at her face, his hands loosened.Seeing her running back, he was about to hold her back and ask what he was going to do, but he was too late for a moment, so he had to wait outside dumbfounded. After a while, Lian Xin came out again.At this time, her cheeks were red. "this is for you." She lowered her head, she didn't know whether she was running in a hurry or because she was ashamed, her peach cheeks seemed to have been swept with a layer of rouge.Clutching her palms, she put something in Yun Li's hand, and then covered it with both hands, meaning not to let him open it in front of her face, "I'm a show girl in the banner. Then come to me with it." After she finished speaking, she tiptoed, kissed his side cheek, and then ran away shyly holding her skirt. This time, Yun Li stretched out his hand quickly, and held her with the other hand, preventing her from running away again.There was a faint smile in his eyes, his eyes were as bright as a star, and he only said a few words in a low voice - "We must pass." Lian Xin bit her lip and nodded. The night was low, and the bright moonlight projected on the ground, like a light and thin white gauze, with a hazy silver color. Yunli looked at her back, stroked the place on her face where she had lightly kissed, and stood at the door of the house for a long time like this.For a moment, I remembered that I stretched out my fingers, and in the palm of my hand was a round and huge pearl, shining brightly in the moonlight. The lotus in June is still in full bloom, and it is already July in a blink of an eye. Since the fifth day of July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been busy preparing for sacrifices and sacrifices to Confucius.Sheji sacrificial ceremony is an extremely important etiquette system in the "auspicious ceremony" which is one of the "five rites". .This matter remains unchanged in accordance with Zhou etiquette.The worship of Confucius was long before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. After the Confucian Temple in Shengjing was completed, Emperor Taizong sent Fan Wencheng, a scholar of the Academy of Secretaries, to worship in front of the god of the most holy teacher Confucius. According to the Tang system, the Spring and Autumn Period Zhong Shangding performed the funeral ceremony. Later, Emperor Shunzhi established the capital in Beijing, and built a Confucian Temple in Guozijian, the capital, with the Dacheng Hall inside, where the annual ceremony of worshiping Confucius was held, and Confucius was honored as "the most holy teacher of Dacheng".Up to this dynasty, although the emperor did not personally perform Shidian, he ordered Prince Guo to offer sacrifices to Dashe Daji to salute the emperor, and to offer sacrifices to his ancestor Confucius. Guozijian is located on Guozijian Street in Andingmen, Dongcheng, adjacent to the Confucius Temple and Lama Temple.Lama Temple is the residence where the emperor lived outside the palace when he was the prince.There are soldiers guarding it on weekdays, and it is very rich and dignified. The current Holy Majesty has just been enthroned for three years, and the sacrificial ceremony for this year has just been replaced by the prince, and all matters are arranged in a tense and grand manner.The Seventeenth Prince, who is acting as an agent of royal etiquette, needs to live in the Ciyin Building in the palace before the sacrifice, and then go to the Great Buddha Hall to listen to the abbot's lectures every day.Preparations were made for the full moon, and the Saji ceremony was performed on the eighth day of the eighth month, and then on the ninth day of the eighth day, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius was held. Before Yunli entered the palace, he sent people to Nanshi Alley. Since that day, servants and servants from Prince Guo's Mansion have often come to deliver things, such as dim sum from Jixiangzhai, mellow wine from Ruyifang, seafood from Feng Qingsheng... Even the newly made dishes of He Fulou are all served. On a plate made of sterling silver, it was packed in a golden coral peach box and delivered to Niu Hulu's house.Guarjia Xuexin knew the whole story, so he was naturally happy to see the result.Rui'er was young, seeing so many delicacies at once, she would stand by the gate every few days, eagerly waiting for the food to be delivered. The neighbors in the neighborhood thought that the Niu Hulu family had been promoted and that's why there were so many gift-giving people.It seems that there is no gold or silver, only food, but Tao is the new official of the fourth grade, not greedy for money and sex, but a glutton. At dusk, Chang'an Avenue is still very lively. In the pavement on the corner of the street, the shopkeeper is holding an abacus and counting the accounts for the day.A few teahouses away, there was also a clerk in the restaurant holding a broom to clean up the dust on the plaque.On the street, the sounds of spatulas frying chestnuts in sugar, the cries of hot wontons, and the sound of waterwheels moving slowly one after another. Lian Xin carried a bamboo basket, bought some fruits and vegetables, turned around the street, and was attracted by a rouge shop. What attracted her was not the red makeup inside, but the shy woman sitting in the shop, facing the bronze mirror, Aunt Wu was opening her face carefully with multicolored cotton thread. "The first-line play on the left gives birth to noble sons, and the first-line play on the right gives birth to delicate boys. The three threads on one side played steadily, and the young lady gave birth to a unicorn. His eyebrows are stretched like a crescent moon, and Tanhualang is the second in the list of champions. Many congratulations to you, girl, he is going to marry a beautiful girl. " Babbling and singing, Aunt Wu sang, twisting the noodles with cotton thread deftly with her fingers.The girl bowed her head reverently, her eyes were lightly closed, and her face was full of happiness. This is an old custom in the world. Before getting married, a woman should find her elderly mother-in-law to open her face, implying auspiciousness, harmony and happiness after marriage. Lian Xin recalled the stories she had read in books.According to legend, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty often went on tour in modest clothes, and secretly ordered the guards to intercept the wedding sedan chair and kidnap the bride by force.A wise man wants to marry a wife, but the woman insists on marrying in a beautiful way, so the wise man tells the matchmaker to shave all the hair on the bride's face, apply a little makeup, and let the bride sit on the vermilion and gold art pavilion.When the welcoming team beat gongs and drums along the way and was stopped by the guards, they presumed it was a meeting to welcome the gods.The guards saw that the bride's face was shining brightly, and she couldn't see any hairs. They thought she was a fairy and did not dare to offend, so they let her go smoothly. Lian Xin watched, the corners of her mouth raised slightly. "This girl is about to enter the palace..." Suddenly, a pale and old voice sounded from behind.Lian Xin looked back, searched for a while, and found a divination booth not far from the street corner, not too big, with a white cloth gown hanging on it, on a simple table, a stick, and a few pieces of rice paper.Sitting behind the table was an old man with a gray beard, touching his chin and looking at her with a benevolent smile. Lian Xin pursed her lips and looked at him in surprise, "Are you talking to me?" In a few days, it will indeed be the period of the palace's talent show. All fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls who are in the banner must enter the palace to be selected, which is an old rule.In fact, it is not surprising to be able to guess.Moreover, things like strange power and chaos are usually used by fortune tellers to make money, which is even more unbelievable.So he carried the bamboo basket and was about to leave. "This old man can see that after the girl enters the palace, she will have a wonderful marriage!" Lian Xin stopped in her tracks because of these words, and tilted her head to look at him. "Sir, can you even figure this out?" The old fortune teller stroked his beard and smiled triumphantly, "I have been telling fortunes on this street for more than forty years, and I have never made a mistake. Just judging by the girl's appearance, she will either become a queen or a noble concubine in the future. She is unspeakably rich. It's priceless!" Lian Xin suddenly laughed.I just thought it was a bit accurate, but it turned out to be these unreliable words. "Everything is fate, everything is involuntary..." After taking a step forward, behind him, the old man began to mutter to himself again.Lian Xin ignored him, and walked forward with a small basket on her shoulders. The old man shook his head, as if he was humming a tune, and every word and every sentence drifted away with the wind—"If it's not a marriage, you can't force it; if it's Marriage, past life is destined to fruition in this life, don't miss it..." The sun was setting. The curling smoke rose, and every household in the capital began to prepare dinner.The stalls on the street were all cleaned up, and the shop assistants hugged the door panels and put them one by one outside the shop, and the door latches were locked.The warm orange halo is projected in the streets and alleys, and pedestrians in twos and threes return leisurely in the afterglow of the setting sun. When I got home, the door of the house was ajar.As soon as Lian Xin stepped over the threshold, she saw Rui'er running over with a large stack of silks and satins, "Sister, the Seventeenth Prince sent the silks and satins, and Er Niang said, they seem to be made of Biyunfang, they are so beautiful! Hurry up!" come and see!" Lian Xin put down the bamboo basket, which contained fresh vegetables.On the other side, Lian Rui joyfully held the satin and gesticulated on her body. On the stone table under the tree, there were still a few bolts of old-colored cloth, but it seemed to be prepared for Ama and Er Niang. "Keep your voice down, you always accept gifts from others, and we don't have anything in return, how can you be ashamed?" Lian Xin pursed her lips, even more thoughtful.It used to be food, but now it is such a precious thing. The smile on Lian Rui's face grew stronger, and she deliberately hesitated to say: "My sister doesn't appreciate it, but the Seventeenth Prince is always thinking about my sister! Everyone has entered the palace, and he didn't forget to order the servants to bring things over. And just now Those servants also said it!" Lian Xin was amused by her, "What did you say?" "They said, the Seventeenth Prince ordered that we will be a family in the future, and bring more things here, so as not to be too much trouble in the future!" Lian Xin reproachfully said "no rules", lowered her head, but her cheeks were flushed. The setting sun gradually fades in the sky, and the sunset glow is like a magnificent sea of ​​flowers, blooming quietly and then withering quietly.The crescent moon bent into a sickle has already revealed a trace of its true face behind the cloudy clouds, and the night of Xushi is slowly filling in. The imperial court will select a show every three years, presided over by the household department, to enrich the harem, or for the in-laws of the royal children.This year happened to be the third year since the current Holy Majesty was enthroned, and it was the first general election in the palace, so naturally everyone was very concerned from top to bottom. At Yin time, the majestic Forbidden City is still shrouded in a thin layer of mist. The streets leading to Shenwumen have already been cleaned up.On the wide and clear road, from time to time, a coachman drove a carriage slowly along the long street, and stopped at the side of the screen wall. Behind the curtain of the car, there were young women dressed in flags and simple clothes.They are all candidates selected from various places. According to the rules, they were sent to the capital ahead of time in mule carts, but judging from the configuration of those vehicles, some were luxurious horse-drawn carriages with sandalwood beams, while others were ridden in simple wooden carts, which clearly showed the background of the girls on board.But compared to those girls who live in the capital city, they are all daughters of the capital officials, and their identities are incomparable. At two quarters of Yin time, the red-lacquered glazed door opened. A big eunuch dressed in a stone blue robe came out of the door, followed by more than ten servants from the House of Internal Affairs, and then the servants in the palace, standing neatly behind the big eunuch.The chief eunuch held a book in his hand, on which were written the names, birth dates, and national flags of the candidates for the show. According to regulations, all girls aged 14 to 16 from Manchu, Mongolian, and Han Army Eight Banners officials, sergeants from other households, and homeless young men must participate in the three-year-old female talent selection. Girls over the age of 17 cannot Participate again.And those who really can't be selected because of illness, disability, or ugly appearance must also go through layer-by-layer guarantees, state the reasons, and the household department of the Metropolitan Consulting Bank. Let him marry by himself.If those who are not in the banner want to participate in the draft, it is more difficult than reaching the sky, and if those in the banner want to avoid the draft, they are asking for trouble. It was just dawn at this time, Lian Xin was helped out of the carriage, and saw that many girls in front stood up according to the flags.The servants who served her led her to the queue of the Xianghuangqi clan.It happened to be next to the bordered white flag, but at this moment, I saw a very familiar figure standing in the team on one side. "Yu Shu." The girl in the flag dress looked back at the sound, originally with a puzzled expression, but after seeing it clearly, she revealed a look of surprise, "Miss Lianxin!" "I'm not some kind of young lady. When I get here, I'm a candidate. Call me Lian Xin!" Lian Xin looked at her gently.The two are very close, one is behind the yellow bordered flag, and the other is at the very end of the white bordered flag.Compared with those wealthy families, they are all lagging behind. At this moment, there was a sound of the whip driving the carriage, and it was the daughter of another mansion in the capital who arrived.Everyone turned their heads, and the curtain was lifted, only to see an elegant young girl walking out from the inside, wearing the same flag dress, but it brought out a different aura when she wore it. Stepping on the moon-white satin embroidered stone flower pot-bottom flag shoes, she lightly clasped her hands, and after getting out of the car, she turned to the servant who was supporting her and said softly: "You guys go back first, and tell Ama that I'm here." All the beauties looked sideways, many of them knew her, she was the most distinguished one in the Xianghuang Banner, the only daughter of Niuhulu Aling'a, Niuhulu Jiajia.I saw her being guided by the maidservant, directly passed all the people present, and stood at the front of the team. When it was the moment of time, Li Qingxi, the chief eunuch in charge of the Duyu Division, cleared his throat, and signaled to all the women waiting for the draft to be quiet, then opened the book in his hand, and began to count the number of people—"Shaanxi Daotai Fucha Wenhao's daughter, Fu Cha Mingyue—" "exist!" "Daughter of Nalan Hideyoshi of Jiangnan Weaving, Nalan Jin—" "exist!" "Daughter of Dong Jia, Yunshu, servant of the Ministry of Punishment, Dong Jia Huixin—" "exist!" After reading it one by one, the woman who was named must take a step forward so that the eunuch who is in charge of checking can see her face clearly.When it was Niuhulu Jiajia, Li Qingxi lowered his voice.When Jiajia came out, Li Qingxi respectfully nodded to her as a salute. "I haven't waited to enter the palace yet. The three, six, and nine ranks are all lined up. How will we deal with ourselves in the future?" "Didn't you see, he came from the Three Banners. Their identities are different!" "Speaking of which, I still go to the three flags." "Wait for you, Ama, to sit in Shangshu Province and become a celebrity in front of the Long Live Lord, then you can talk about it!" Whispering voices sounded one after another around him, but Niu Hulu Jiajia was far away, so naturally he couldn't hear them.Lian Xin and Yu Shu could hear these words clearly.The two looked at each other and smiled helplessly. At this moment, Li Qingxi coughed twice, then turned another page, and just hit the end of the bordered yellow flag, "Ministry of Rites Dianyi Niuhulu Lingzhu's daughter, Niuhulu Lianxin—" "exist!" Lian Xin stepped out of the line with light steps, lowered her head, and straightened her body.