[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

But on the other side, back to the time when the draft entered the palace.

On the sixth day of June (lunar calendar), the emperor decreed that the three younger brothers in the palace, the 18-year-old 17th prince Tu Yuanyan, the 16-year-old thirteenth prince Tu Yuanjin, and the [-]-year-old fifteenth prince Tu Yuanqian were honored. The Prince, Prince Fu, and Prince Ying selected nine of the show girls to marry them as side concubines.

In fact, some of them were selected by their mother clan themselves, but it would be more honorable to go through a formality and pass the draft before giving them a marriage.

Among them were several clan kings, dukes, and side concubines, and the emperor divided the beauties into eight more.

Then there are the middle and senior generals who made contributions in the chaos of the three kings in the capital, and the sons of the courtiers who have won the sacred heart in the court.Tu Yuanyi was not stingy either, which made people dazzled. Almost all those who did not have a wife were given marriages, and eight were missing.

Among them, the status of warriors is not high, and the honor of bestowing marriages on carefully selected embroidered women to subordinates was only available in the Tai/zu period of this dynasty.

These are the elites among the beauties in the world who have been assigned from the emperor's mouth, and they are all born in officialdom, how can those courtiers not be grateful for the glory?

And from this matter, it made the ministers feel even more embarrassing today.

As a result, among the 47 beautiful women selected, only 23 entered the palace. Xing Xiuyan was one of them. Can no longer return to the palace.

As for Su Qing and Zhao Quan, after she entered the palace gate, she would go back to report to Zhao Gui and re-enter the palace.

Xing Xiuyan's maids carried heavy burdens, all of which were gold and silver coins and bank notes, and the inspection went smoothly when they entered the palace. Even if she brought more maids than others, someone opened the back door.

Xing Xiuyan looked at the Chuxiu Palace again, it was different from a month ago, all the mattresses were put away, and it was arranged as a private room for the beautiful lady, but the servant girl slept on the bed separated by a screen.Xing Xiuyan brought four servant girls and they couldn't fit on the couch, so she could only let two of them sleep with her at night.

Zixue Qingjin knew that she was very open-minded in this regard, so she refused and slept together.

Now they mean that the beautiful women entering the palace have not been canonized, and they will leave Chuxiu Palace only after being canonized tomorrow.

Suddenly a voice sounded: "Sister Xing, do you still remember me?"

Xing Xiuyan turned her head to see a beautiful and elegant girl, and said with a smile, "It's sister Xie."

This woman was Xie Wanying, who showed that she could write very well that day. She was the daughter of a provincial student who studied politics.Xing Xiuyan saw that although she was not as good as Daiyu, but because of her poetic and scholarly spirit, Daiyu and Miaoyu liked her a little, and talked to her affectionately.

Xie Wanying said: "My sister's painting that day really amazed me. After seeing my sister, I knew that there is a sky beyond the sky, and there are people beyond people. I am just a frog in a well."

Xing Xiuyan said: "I can only draw a few strokes. My mother believes in Buddhism and used to be able to draw when I was young. It's just a trick. Unlike my sister's family background, iron and silver hooks are really good."

Xie Wanying said: "What's the matter? I'm just playing tricks like that, my sister, please stop laughing. From now on, we will serve the emperor together in the palace and take care of each other."

Speaking of the emperor, Xie Wanying's pretty face blushed, looking like a girl in spring.

Xing Xiuyan chuckled, thinking about how Gong Douwen will live in the future, to win over allies, but Xing Xiuyan thinks that almost all these beautiful girls have better family background than her, even if she is an ally, she is looked down upon.

Hearing a sneer suddenly, he said, "Who am I? I've been thinking about the emperor here during the day, so it's you!"

Xing Xiuyan turned her head to look, that person was fair-skinned and almond-eyed, and quite pretty, wasn't it Liu Jingru who he didn't deal with before?

Xing Xiuyan smiled slightly and said, "Miss Liu, are you all right?"

Liu Jingru said, "Thanks to you, I'm fine. Do you still want to rob me of the house today?"

Xing Xiuyan said: "How dare you? You are the empress dowager's niece, the lady of Cheng'en Gong's mansion."

Everyone looked at Liu Jingru with a slight strangeness in their eyes, some people were afraid, some people lamented that the queen mother's route was broken, the queen mother must be taking care of her niece.

Liu Jingru walked forward with the girl, bumped Xing Xiuyan with her shoulder, saw Xing Xiuyan's girl Qingxuan beside her, waved her hand, and cursed: "You son of a bitch, you dare to block my way, and you don't know who you are .”

Xing Xiuyan was surprised and angry at the same time. This Liu Jingru held a grudge for what happened back then. When I met her here, she said that she didn't have a big attack.In front of everyone, what face does she have?

Xing Xiuyan blocked Liu Jingru's path and said, "You apologize!"

Liu Jingru sneered and said, "Are you kidding, but can a dog slave bear it?"

Xing Xiuyan said loudly: "Even if she is a slave, she is still my slave! You have no right to beat her!"

Liu Jingru said, "I'll just beat her. I'm a petty master who beat her a flirt with no winks. Do you still want to beat her back?"

Xing Xiuyan said: "Why are you trying to get along with me? Everyone is just serving people in the palace, no one is more noble than anyone else! Who are you showing off in Chuxiu Palace, and whose prestige is showing off? You also said you It’s just my lord, you’re not the queen!”

Liu Jingru's face suddenly turned pale, and she said, "My aunt is the queen mother!"

Xing Xiuyan said: "Then I am still a subject of the Holy Majesty! The Holy Majesty loves the people like a son, and you are so unreasonable and bullying his subjects, you really have no respect for the Majesty!"

Liu Jingru said, "Hey, don't use the tiger skin as a banner for me. You haven't mentioned your background, but which family's daughter are you?"

Xing Xiuyan knew that she might not be able to get a clue about this matter. Anyway, with Liu Jingru, it is impossible for Empress Dowager Liu to like her.

Xing Xiuyan also knew that after entering the palace, the only one she could rely on was the emperor, but the emperor's love for women was difficult to grasp.She can only look forward to the 120-year friendship between uncle and nephew. According to his love for her in the past, it can at least compare to the empress dowager Liu's affection for Liu Jingru. Replaced by the "little wife" position.

Kuang Xing Xiuyan also knew in her heart that now that she is young and transformed into a concubine, she can rely on her looks, so she doesn't want to be bullied at will.

Xie Wanying couldn't help but tremble slightly, she knew that Xing Xiuyan's family background was not high, and the weaving of the House of Internal Affairs was only a fifth-rank official.

Xing Xiuyan thought that if she told her background, everyone would look down on her, but if she didn't tell her, everyone would think that she hides her head and shows her tail and dare not see others.

Xing Xiuyan said: "I want you to apologize. Why do you ask me about my background? If you ask me, you have to tell me. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for me? You are not the Lord Qingtian of the Ministry of Criminal Justice who tried the case, and I am not a prisoner. I have to say everything." .”

Everyone didn't expect her to say this, Liu Jingru said triumphantly, "You don't dare, I know half of the ladies above the third-rank official in Beijing, and I have never heard of Xing."

But Xing Xiuyan sees all the beautiful girls looking at her strangely, and sighs in her heart that the ancient society really looked at her father.But what she doesn't say is even more looked down upon, so it's better to be frank.

"You're provoking me, but it's not that I don't dare, that's all, why not tell you? My father is a weaver for the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Liu Jingru laughed mockingly: "Haha, it's just a petty official of the fifth or sixth rank, how dare you mess with me like this."

"It's not like you, you beat people indiscriminately. But my father is a fifth-rank official, so what rank is your father? Your father must be a first-rank official. Is it Taishi, Taifu, Shaobao or a university student?" Scholars?" Of course Xing Xiuyan knew it wasn't, she had asked someone when she got home.If she cares about her father's official position, then take a look.

Liu Jingru's face turned red, and she suddenly realized that her own father was only a fifth-rank official.She always goes with her grandmother when she goes out to socialize, and everyone calls her the concubine's daughter of Duke Cheng'en's mansion.But it was never said that she was the daughter of a fifth-rank official.And Cheng Engong's title is different from other titles, it is not hereditary, when her grandfather passes away, if she is not in the early stage, she is just the daughter of a fifth-rank official.

No, she still has an aunt.

It's just that Liu Jingru is very concerned about the rank of officials, so she can't help but lose her temper at this time. She has moved out of her aunt again and again and has not been afraid of Xing Xiuyan, so she doesn't want to move now.

Xing Xiuyan just wanted to continue to humiliate her and come back to let others know that she is not a soft persimmon so that everyone will pinch her and vent their anger on Qingxuan.

At this moment, when I heard footsteps, a girl in a bright and exquisite pink palace dress came over with two maidservants, but she chuckled lightly and said, "I don't know who it is, so it's you, a lowly maidservant!" .”

Xing Xiuyan turned her head and saw that it was Shen Man, the daughter of Xianning county lord. It was really a flood that washed over the Dragon King Temple, and the road to Enemies was narrowed.

Shen Man gave Xing Xiuyan a cold look, and said: "You lowly servant girl is becoming more and more daring, relying on the support of Youlin University scholar, you can't recognize your identity, and you dare to be rampant against the young lady of Cheng En's family. "

At this moment, Liu Jingru finally found an ally. She and Shen Man knew each other, one was the granddaughter of Duke Cheng En, and the other was the granddaughter of Marquis Shunping.Although Cheng Engong has a higher title now, he cannot inherit it, but Marquis Shunping can, and Shen Man's mother is still the head of the clan and county.

"Man'er, so you know her."

Shen Man smiled and said: "Why don't you know each other? This sister Xing is so tricky that she coaxed the University of Lin to accept her as a foster daughter. She even walked around as the daughter of a university scholar, and she didn't even remember that she was just a daughter of a university student. The daughter of a servant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs..."

Surrounded by many beautiful girls and maidservants, they showed expressions of ridicule or sympathy. Shen Man was following her mother's instructions that day, and she had to abide by the rules during the draft to avoid mistakes, so she had been reluctant to move around and did not see Xing Xiuyan.

But today I heard some noise, so I came over to have a look, seeing Liu Jingru conflicting with her, how could I not resist adding fuel to the flames.

That day in Shifu, if Xing Xiuyan had subdued and lost face, Shen Man would not have held grudges like this, but back then she would even come to Xianning county magistrate Shangchai, obviously she was not at a disadvantage, Shen Man was extremely jealous.

Knowing her daughter's temper, County Lord Xianning originally didn't want her to be drafted, but Shen Man was so angry that she wanted to enter the palace and went on a hunger strike to protest, so County Lord Xianning had no choice.

But thinking that the Marquis of Shunping is still in the court, her husband was born as a Jinshi, and is now a fourth-rank official, and the Prince of Yijun's mansion can still support her a little, so she agrees with her daughter.

Xing Xiuyan was furious at being humiliated in public like this, so she wanted her to pay the price. She couldn't talk about her father's official position as she did with Liu Jingru just now, so she thought it would be better to make a big fuss. The two suffered a great loss.

This Shen Man's father is a fourth-rank official, his grandfather is a powerful marquis, and his mother is a county magistrate, so he actually has more roots than Liu Jingru.She was holding on to her adoptive father, and she couldn't fight back.She also couldn't explain to outsiders the true sisterhood of her adoptive father. It was reasonable for her to say that his father was a slave based on her clan blood.

It is a loss, but the emperor's favor is like saving money, and the money will be spent, and it is not worthwhile to waste "money" on it.

In the palace, it is the most difficult thing to face the high and the low, and Xing Xiuyan also thinks that she is at least more beautiful than them. Even if she doesn't have golden thighs, if the emperor is not blind, she has a higher chance of being favored.

It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge.

Today, I am alone, and the other party is the niece of the empress dowager, and the other is the mother of the clan. It is difficult for her to get a bargain, and this is the reality in this palace.Xing Xiuyan persuaded herself to endure it for the time being.