Chapter 17 - The Selection (I)
Snow-covered bricks and red tiles, through the hazy window paper, vaguely visible within the Hall of the Sun is extremely luxurious. Open the door, curls of orchid aroma from the incense burner and dense out, around the main hall, saw the Empress is wearing a bright purple embroidered with gold and hoof lotus of the regular clothes, oblique inserted a purple jadeite point Cui double mandarin ducks tassel hairpin half leaning on the couch in the West Warming Pavilion, a maidservant service aside.
"Your Highness, there are still a few days left before the selection of the showgirls, this time the palace is going to be bustling." The Empress's attendant Qian Han said while peeling mandarin oranges.
"Lively or not this palace doesn't care, as long as the emperor is happy." The Empress took the orange petals Qian Han peeled and put them in her mouth.
"Your Majesty has the Emperor in her heart and a big heart, it is a blessing for all to have Your Majesty sitting in the harem."
"Do you not know whether I am generous or not? Just this position forced people generous just. The Emperor is now two years old, with only one daughter at his knee, and in addition to Wen Chonghua, no one, including the Palace, has ever had a son or daughter. The heir is the root of the inheritance, and without an heir, how can I pass on my inheritance in Great Yeh?"
"With the late emperor gone and the constant strife in the southern county, His Majesty's mind has been on the front court for the past three years and rarely enters the harem, it's no fault of Your Highness." Qian Han again handed a newly peeled orange petal to the Empress.
"It's not the Palace's fault! If you want to blame it, blame it on the ancestral rule of killing the mother! With such ancestral rules, it's hard not to cut off children and grandchildren! The first emperor first set up the eldest prince, gave the eldest prince's birth mother Lin Guiren, who knows that the eldest prince is not lucky, before the adult died; and set up the emperor, gave the emperor's birth mother to death, really pity the emperor at a young age will not have a mother." The Empress yawned and changed her position, leaning back on the couch once again.
"Niangniang! You mustn't talk nonsense, what if this is known to the Emperor?" Qian Han said.
"Your Majesty does not know? His Majesty's heart is as clear as a mirror, and this is what the Palace will say to you, since it will not speak to outsiders."
Qian Han did not say much, see the empress leaning not too comfortable, busy take a cushion pad to the empress under the waist.
"Hey! It's difficult! It's good to choose a few newcomers to check and balance Yun Guihua." The Empress sighed and added, "To say that it is also difficult to check and balance, Yun Guihua is after all his own cousin, people are after all the closest relatives."
"Do not worry, Your Highness, Yun Guihua is so favored that she may be pregnant one day!"
"Hopefully! It is better to be pregnant before this palace, and it is better to have a baby boy."
"Don't worry, Your Highness, you will never get pregnant earlier than Yun Guihua." Qian Han said.
"So be it."
Style Qian Palace outside the snow was cleaned clean, that snow water to the courtyard of the green stone road washed clean and clear, the courtyard a few fallen pine needles to the courtyard added a few points of greenery, as if spring is not far away, just as the style Qian Palace of the Emperor's warm as spring smile.
The Emperor leaned back on the double-dragon juggling beads recliner carved from yellow pear in the hall, playing with the sheep's white jade pendant in his hand.
Attendant yellow door Liu Yi smiled and handed a cup of newly steeped Dragon Well, said: "Emperor, since you picked up this piece of jade on New Year's Eve, you have not left the body. Slave girl see, this is just a piece of white jade, although the color is better, is not what rare things!"
The Emperor restrained his words with a smile and said, "What do you know?"
Liu Yi took the opportunity to receive the cup, came closer to some body, eyebrows open smile: "slave girl although do not know jade, but slave girl know painting, you look at the white jade carved on the little girl's fleshy face, big eyes is lovely tight."
The Emperor crossed Liu Yi's eyes and laughed, "Count on your knowledge."
Liu Yi stirred his nose and said, "I'm afraid that what the Emperor likes is not this jade, but the girl on this jade, and moreover the girl after she grows up to be an adult."
"Roll aside." The Emperor rolled over and got off the couch, heading straight for the door.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Where are you going? It's cool outside, put on an overcoat." Liu Yi put down his teacup and took his cloak and chased him out.
"I'll go to the Empress's to see how she's organized the selection?"
"Your Majesty! There are still a few days before the draft! The slave girl looks at that woman is only past the age of maturity, perhaps also in the ranks of the draft, perhaps the emperor will see in a few days."
"Liu Yi, you really have grown a good mouth." The Emperor said with a smile.
"Thank you for your Majesty's compliments." Liu Yi said with a cheeky smile while following behind the Emperor Cee.
Ronghua Temple inside Yuan Xi is combing makeup in the mirror, this day the scab on the forehead has fallen, although it did not leave any scars, but the new flesh and the old flesh is not a color, I think after a summer will be able to return to its original state, but after the first yuan will be selected, even if covered with grease and powder can be separated from the color, after all, it is too late.
Ying Yun Ying He anxious round and round, because the day after tomorrow will be selected, Miss this appearance is impossible to pass. On the contrary, Yuan Xi a piece of frank, she does not care whether the emperor's favor, whether to enter the palace.
Yin Ruotang had not appeared in Yuan Xi's field of vision since he had come to Ronghua Temple that time when he was drunk, even if Shangyuan had not appeared, so the day peacefully came to the day of the 16th of the first month of the first month of the election.
This day, Yuan Xi dressed in a pink flow of fairy dress, outside the same color cloak, combed the flow of clouds bun, hairpin white pearl lotus row comb, hairpin two glazed lotus sideburns, and in the same side wearing two lotus pearl white tassels.
Dressing up is very refreshing and does not point the eye, just that the scar between the forehead is really a bit abrupt. The two maids wanted Yuan Xi to cut some bangs to cover the scar, but Yuan Xi didn't want to be chosen for the palace at all, so she didn't cover it up.
After everything was packed up, they traveled in a soft sedan chair to the outside of the palace.
The showgirls are waiting at the Palace's Ximingmen, Yuan Xi arrived at the time has been a sea of people. At this time Yuan Xi realized that the selection of showgirls similar to the draft, divided into the preliminary and final rounds.
Listen to the door yellow door said, today to participate in the selection of a total of one thousand four hundred and sixty-two showgirls, the emperor's front affairs are heavy, since it will not be one by one over the eye, it will be by the Harem Chief Yellow Door Caiquan and the Empress Dowager first selected three hundred people, these three hundred people can see the face of the dragon.
"All showgirls, when you enter the palace, you may not give orders and you may not raise your heads. Okay, after entering this Ximing Gate, you are entering the palace, the palace is not like outside, all of you be alert."
A group of showgirls bowed, Yuan Xi also lowered his head and walked along with the procession towards the palace. The foot of the pavement are all green bricks, luster are good, the palace wall is also for the accumulation of green stone, flooded with its own luster. Yuan Xi only with the afterglow silently survey, although did not see more, but only with this brick and tile is enough to be admired.
The entire Yebei Palace has five gates, the south of the main gate of the palace, the Helu Gate, the west and east of the two side gates, because the city's west and east columns are all the concubines for the service of the function of the place, so these side gates for the palace maid yellow door usually out of the palace to use.
In addition to the west side of the palace, there are the Shang Penal Bureau, the Shang Food Bureau, the Shang Yi Bureau, the Wun Yi Bureau, there is also a palace room named Xibaotang, for the trustees to enter the palace for the emperor to share the political affairs used.
This time the selection of the showgirls place, will be located in the Xibaodang. The queen was sitting on the nanmu carved flower phoenix seat with a serious palace dress embroidered with peonies, and a line of showgirls, in groups of twenty, entered the hall and knelt under the phoenix seat.
Yuan Xi came later, also back in line, about half an hour later finally entered the hall. Learning from the words taught by the yellow door in charge, Yuan Xi followed the crowd and bowed to the person on the phoenix seat, saying, "Greetings to the Empress, wishing the Empress eternal youth and good fortune."
"All up! Raise your heads." Xu had been sitting for too long, and the Empress's voice was slightly weary.
Yuan Xi raised his head in accordance with the Empress' words. But what the Empress said about lifting her head is not about lifting her eyes. Yuan Xi is not ignorant of the rules but life and death without fear, she was curious about the Queen's looks, so she raised her head. As her eyes meet, Yuan Xi hears a shrill voice of reproach, "How dare a bold lackey look at the Empress."
Knowing that the man was reprimanding himself, Yuan Xi lowered his head.
The yellow door with the shrill voice, was busy bending down beside the Empress, and said in a low voice: "Empress Dowager, don't blame me, most of these are commoner women who don't know the rules, and dare to raise their heads to look at Empress Dowager's heavenly face. How does the Empress intend to punish them?"
"Forget it, the selection of showgirls is a good thing, this palace doesn't want to spoil his majesty's pleasure, will this palace have a general understanding with a showgirl!"
"Your Highness bear with me." That yellow door bent down and replied.
"Hey!" The Empress sighed and said, "It's a pity, although the appearance is good, there is a scar on the forehead. All retire!"
This sound of retreat indicated that the crowd had failed to enter their eyes, so Yuan Xi bent down with the crowd and exited the Xibai Hall.
"Cai Quan, how many more groups are there?" The Empress asked somewhat wearily.
"Back to Your Highness, just now was the last group." Harem Yellow Gate Chief Cai Quan accompanied with a smile.
"I think the Emperor is about to get off the court, so quickly ask the Emperor to come over to see the person that the Palace has initially selected for him."