Chapter 433: The Six Palaces

In this draft, Jamel Xiao selected nine rookies.

That night, the list of these beauties was sent to Fengluan Palace by Xiao Yinzi.

He said, "Empress, the Emperor asked me to bring the list to you. Please allow your Majesty to designate positions and grant palaces to the new ladies entering the palace."

There are only so many women of marriageable age in the government every year.

You have to have both a good family background and good looks, and if you are so picky, there won't be many people left.

Zhao Hua looked at the newcomers on the list one by one, and wrote down their positions and palaces with a few strokes of his pen.

When it came to Ru Ge, Zhao Hua was about to put down his pen when he suddenly heard Xiao Yinzi say:

"Among this group of new talents, the emperor only gave a title to Nalan, which is Weizhen."

Zhao Hua understood and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty values ​​Nalan, so grant her the status of a noble."

Xiao Yinzi added: "The Emperor will not ask how the Empress arranges her position and palace. But the Emperor hopes that Nalan can be arranged to live closer to Ruyi Pavilion."

Zhao Hua hovered the tip of his pen in the air, and his eyes changed in an instant.

Among the six palaces in the east and west, the only palace that is closest to Ruyi Pavilion is Zhuixia Palace where Rongyue lives.

Rong Yue has lived alone since she was ordained as a concubine. Now Nalan Ruge is so rude and Zhao Hua doesn't want to arrange for them to live together in the palace.

But Xiao Jingheng had already let Xiao Yinzi pass on the message. If Zhaohua didn't agree, it would probably cause more trouble.

So she could only arrange Ru Ge to go to Zhuixia Palace for the time being, and remind Rong Yue to be more cautious in the future.

After everything was arranged, Zhao Hua handed the list back to Xiao Yinzi and said:

"Let the Ministry of Internal Affairs follow the arrangements. The newcomer will enter the palace in two days, but you will still be busy. Please serve her carefully."

Xiao Yinzi smiled flatteringly and said, "The only two proper masters in this palace are the Emperor and the Empress. The only one in the harem who can be carefully served by the servants is you, the Empress."

Zhao Hua sneered coldly, not wanting to hear any of Xiao Yinzi's slick flattery.

He just said, "I am tired, you go back and report. And by the way, tell the emperor about the newcomer entering the palace. I will go and report to him in person tomorrow after the emperor has finished his morning court."

Xiao Yinzi replied, "I understand. But Concubine Ying informed the emperor in advance, saying that her mother's family had sent some high-quality beef, and thinking that the emperor would like it, they would cook it and send it to him for lunch tomorrow. Since the Empress has something to say to the emperor, I will send someone to tell Concubine Ying to come back another day."

After saying this, Xiao Yinzi bowed and left.

But just as he was about to step out of the main palace gate, Zhao Hua called him back.

"Wait a minute."

Xiao Yinzi hurriedly stopped and looked back, "What else do you want, Madam?"

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "You don't need to inform Concubine Ying. She has a lot of feelings for the emperor, and we should not let her down. If she comes to Chaoyang Palace tomorrow, you can go inside and inform her. I will help her after I have talked to the emperor."

Xiao Yinzi said: "The Queen is considerate of the concubines and is truly a role model for women."

Zhao Hua glanced at him, not even bothering to say anything, and waved his hand to send him away.

After he left, Zhao Hua told Xiao Fuzi:

"Tomorrow, you go to the gate of Concubine Ying's palace and keep an eye on her. If you see her leave the palace, you will rush to Chaoyang Palace to find me before she does. Let Xiao Yinzi go in and tell her that Chengye is crying and the wet nurse can't comfort him, so I have to go back."

Xiao Fuzi didn't ask the reason, but just nodded in agreement.

The next day,

After Xiao Jingheng finished his morning court session, Zhao Hua immediately rushed to Chaoyang Palace and told him in detail about the arrangements for the concubines yesterday.

"Nalan is the only one among this group of concubines who has been given a title by Xiao Lang. The rest of the concubines should respect her, so I have given her the title of noble lady.

Moreover, she is a person who likes painting, so I arranged for her to live with Shunpin in Zhuixia Palace. That place is closest to Ruyi Pavilion, which is also in line with her preferences.

As for the remaining concubines, they have all been assigned palaces, and the list has been sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If Xiao Lang finds anything inappropriate after reading it, he can make changes. "

"No need." Xiao Jingheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Zhao'er has arranged everything properly, how can I find fault with it?"

Zhao Hua also smiled, "In theory, the position of this rookie should be decided by Xiao Lang, and I can't guess what Xiao Lang is thinking, so how can I arrange everything to satisfy Xiao Lang?"

Xiao Jingheng heard jealousy from her words, and hurriedly put his arms around her slender waist, laughing loudly:

"As long as it is Zhao'er's arrangement, I am satisfied. This is what it means when a husband and wife are of one mind."

His hands wandered restlessly around Zhaohua's waist, tickling her.

Zhao Hua nimbly stepped aside, escaped from his arms, and went behind him, massaging his shoulders and neck with her soft fingers with moderate force.

"It's just that I'm thinking that with the newcomers entering the palace, there are too many promised concubines, but many of the main positions are vacant. For example, there are only two concubines, Yingfei and Yunfei, and there is only one concubine, Shunpin,"

Xiao Jingheng thought for a moment and said, "I promised Concubine Chen the title of Imperial Concubine a year ago, but the Imperial Concubine was always appointed when the Central Palace was without a leader, or when the Queen was seriously ill and unable to manage the affairs. Now Zhao'er is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces in an orderly manner, so it is always inappropriate to appoint an Imperial Concubine at this time."

Zhao Hua said indifferently, "When I manage the harem, I am always soft-hearted. If Noble Concubine Chen can manage together with me, and both of us are lenient and strict, maybe it will be a good way to keep the six palaces stable. But Your Majesty, don't just promote Noble Concubine Chen and ignore the old people who have served you for a long time. Otherwise, if you favor one over the other, the concubines will not say it in public, but they will complain in private."

Xiao Jingheng said: "Since I ascended the throne, I have never conferred titles on the six concubines. Now that the world is peaceful and stable, conferring titles on the six concubines is also a way to commend meritorious officials, which is also a good thing."

He thought for a while, and then said, "Then let's promote Shunpin to Shunfei, and Ruguiren to Rupin. The rest who have served in the palace for a long time should also be promoted accordingly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yinzi came hurriedly, stood in the hall, bowed to the two of them, and said to Zhaohua:

"Your Highness, your Majesty, Eunuch Fu from your palace came to see you and said that the Fourth Prince was crying so hard that his voice sounded hoarse. The wet nurses were unable to comfort him, so they had to ask you to go back and take a look..."

Hearing this, Zhao Hua frowned slightly, with a worried look on his face.

Xiao Jingheng knew that she missed her son very much, so he said, "The child has been with you since he was young, so he can't leave you. You can go."

Zhao Hua knew that since Xiao Yinzi came to deliver the message at this time, Concubine Ying would definitely arrive outside the Chaoyang Palace soon.

So she slowed down, raised her voice slightly, and said to Xiao Jingheng:

"Xiao Lang, the Mongolian and Hu tribes have been very stable recently. In October this year, all nations will come to congratulate, especially the Mongolian and Hu tribes. When the two tribes enter the palace, they will know the situation in the palace. The people of the Hu tribe will see that the noble lady has been promoted to the position of concubine, but Ying Fei is still in the position of concubine. I am afraid that this will make Ada Khan of the Hu tribe feel uncomfortable."

Ying Fei's character was too strong, which Xiao Jingheng did not like.

Recently, he has been close to Mongolia and distant from the Hu tribe, intending to stir up the two tribes to seek mutual support.

At the beginning of the year, the tribute paid by Mongolia to the imperial court was more than double that paid by the Hu tribe.

Xiao Jingheng's closeness to Mongolia also wanted to let the Hu tribe see. If he wanted the court's policies to be more favorable to them and wanted his daughter to live comfortably in the palace, he had to give up his own interests and show some appreciation to Qi Chao.

Therefore, he rejected Zhao Hua's proposal without even thinking about it.

"Although Concubine Ying has been in the palace for a long time, she has no children. If she is promoted to the position of Imperial Concubine, it may be inappropriate. We will discuss this matter later."

Zhaohua stopped trying to persuade him, and just smiled and said:

"Your Majesty, please make the decision. Chengye is still waiting for me in the palace, so I will take my leave first."

After leaving Chaoyang Palace, Zhaohua did not see Concubine Ying.

So he whispered to Xiao Fuzi, "Where is she?"

Xiao Fuzi said, "I heard the Emperor and the Empress talking outside the door. They looked unhappy. I was told to just pretend I hadn't seen them, and then I left."

Zhao Hua listened quietly, and was helped by Xiao Fuzi into the phoenix sedan chair, but he didn't say anything else.