The first year of Jingsheng. Rong'an City.
It was already the twelfth lunar month. A recent snowfall had occurred, and from a distance, the entire capital's buildings were blanketed in white.
The pace of life in the capital slowed down, and there were fewer pedestrians on the streets.
The imperial city was also covered in white.
The palace maids and eunuchs were busy cleaning the snow-covered road.
After Yang Hongjin came back from the audience at Xingrong Palace, he did not go to the imperial study but went directly to the harem.
On the way, some palace maids were cleaning and playing with snowballs.
There was nothing fun to do in the deep palace, so the rare snowfall became their game to relieve stress and have fun.
Seeing the palace maids playing in the snow from afar, Yang Hongjin smiled and said,
"I've almost forgotten how long it's been since I had a snowball fight."
The accompanying eunuch Gao asked, "Your Majesty, would you like them to play snowballs with you?"
"No, let's go."
Yang Hongjin shook his head and just sighed.
Living in the palace since he was a child, as a prince, he was actually under a lot of pressure. He needed to learn too many things and didn't have much time to play.
His mother passed away early, so Yang Hongjin became a bit of a loner when he was a child.
When he grew up, he left the palace early and set up his own residence. He did not like disputes. Apart from his high status, his life was as plain as water.
Yang Hongjin and Eunuch Gao continued to move forward.
When they passed by, several palace maids were so engrossed in their play that they didn't notice the two people passing by.
A snowball flew over and hit the fur cloak over Yang Hongjin's dragon robe.
The palace maid who threw the snowball noticed something was wrong and froze. A gust of cold wind blew past her and she shivered.
It was the coldest time of the year, but she was sweating profusely and even forgot to greet him.
It was not until everyone around her knelt down and kowtowed to apologize that the palace maid reacted and quickly knelt down as well.
When Eunuch Gao saw this, he was about to step forward and reprimand him.
Yang Hongjin raised his hand to indicate that it was not necessary and said,
"Everyone, get up."
After saying that, he left with a wave of his sleeves. Eunuch Gao quickly followed him. When he passed by the palace maid, he glared at her and scolded her in a low voice,
"Be smart."
After Yang Hongjin walked away, several palace maids stood up. They felt as if they had been pardoned and their hearts were almost beating in their throats.
"The Emperor is so easygoing. He's not even angry with you."
"I was scared to death."
The palace maid who lost the ball patted her chest. If it were someone else, they might have been dragged away and beaten with a stick.
"Do you think this looks like throwing a bouquet?"
"Slut, stop talking nonsense and get to work."
"Hey, have you heard recently that the court officials are all trying to persuade the emperor to take a concubine?"
"What's wrong? Are you still dreaming? Wake up."
"It's just daydreaming, isn't it?
You know what, the emperor is so young and handsome, I wonder which lady would have such a good fortune."
"You're hopeless."
After the palace maid finished speaking, she threw a snowball at the daydreamer.
"Oh, you're looking for death."
The one who was hit gathered together and hit back, and several palace maids started playing together again.
…
When he arrived at the Queen's bedroom, he met Yuchi Shuang who was about to go out.
It wasn't too long since he had taken over the palace, and there was still a lot of work to be done.
Yang Hongjin has not yet taken a wife, so he lives with Yuchi Shuang most of the time.
For emperors in the past, three thousand beauties in the harem were not considered many. It is said that the number could reach tens of thousands.
Of course, the palace maids are included in the calculation.
But now the Darong Palace is much quieter.
As for the reason, it was because the emperor was changed twice in just two years.
When the third prince came to power, most of the old emperor's concubines were driven out to become nuns, and a small number of them were sent to guard the old emperor's tomb as a pretense.
Although he also selected concubines, not many new entrants were released at once.
A year later, Jiang Hai assisted the sixth brother in rejecting the third brother, and the harem was cleaned up again.
However, under Yuchi Shuang's persuasion, these concubines were sent back home, and they were not asked to become nuns or guard the tombs like the third prince did.
This is unprecedented in this era.
After the experiences in Yuezhou and Xincheng, Yang Hongjin and Yuchi Shuang's concepts have changed slightly.
Especially Yuchi Shuang, who stayed in the new city longer and heard more things from her sister.
This action inadvertently earned her a good reputation for being kind.
"Shuang'er, are you leaving the palace?" Yang Hongjin saw that she was dressed in casual clothes.
"Well, my sister has arrived in the capital. I'm going to the palace. Would the emperor like to go with me?" Yuchi Shuang replied.
Yang Hongjin just wanted to come over for a meal because he had to go to work later. The emperor's schedule was really full.
He couldn't help but think of the famous saying of Wu Gong, "No dog can be an official."
Shaking his head helplessly, he said,
"Forget it, I have something else to do. Just go and tell my brother-in-law to come to court tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll leave first. Your Majesty, please go to the imperial kitchen for dinner." Yuchi Shuang nodded in agreement and took Xiaomo out of the palace.
Yang Hongjin had no choice but to go back. He was quite troubled by the recent talk among the court officials about selecting a concubine.
Yang Hongjin was very satisfied with the second Miss Yuchi. He did not want to choose a concubine, nor did he have that much energy to do these things.
But the court officials did not think so. Who wouldn't want to put women around the emperor and build relationships with him? That would make things easier in the future.
Of course, what they said were all high-sounding rhetoric, saying that the emperor's offspring were related to the future of the country.
And Yuchi Shuang has not yet conceived a child.
After marrying Yang Hongjin, they went all the way to Yuezhou. As soon as they arrived, the third sister rebelled and dragged Yang Hongjin into the game.
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