In this dynasty, the selected young women would return home to await marriage, waiting for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to calculate an auspicious day to present to the Emperor and Empress, after which they would be granted marriage by imperial decree or brought into the palace.
As for beauties, especially those who are stunningly beautiful, even the empress could not fathom the emperor's thoughts. This required consulting the emperor's opinion, and in some cases, the emperor himself had to make the decision.
For example, if the emperor takes a liking to someone, she must enter the palace as a concubine; if the emperor chooses someone for his son, he will directly issue an imperial decree to bestow a marriage upon her. If the emperor's intentions are misunderstood, the empress will likely suffer the consequences.
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Luanxi Pavilion.
When Zhou Jin walked in, Bai Lingxi was reading a storybook with her legs crossed. Her brother Xiao Qi said that he had no experience in love, so he should read more storybooks to broaden his knowledge.
"Your Majesty, I can't do it!" Bai Lingxi saw Zhou Jin, threw down her storybook, grabbed Zhou Jin's legs, and began to act.
Zhou Jin's eyes flickered slightly, and he spoke with interest, "So you've heard about the talent show and come here to cause trouble for me?"
Bai Lingxi's eyes were bright, and her fair skin was hazy in the sunlight, as if it could glow. She was like an angel fallen to earth, making people want to fall for her and sink into her wickedness.
Zhou Jin's mind raced, and she spoke in a hoarse voice, "As one of my concubines, you dare to be jealous! Let's see how I punish you."
Having said that, in that position, he pinched Bai Lingxi's chin with two fingers, aimed at her rosy lips, and leaned in to kiss her.
Bai Lingxi felt deeply deceived. The storybooks didn't say it that way. They said that most emperors disliked jealous women like that, and would get angry, so they wouldn't have such frequent quarrels.
Bai Lingxi felt sorry for her small waist, clutching it and feeling tired. She thought that her partner being too aroused was bad for her health.
"Let me think of a way to punish you for being so disobedient." Zhou Jin's sexy voice rang in her ear, and she looked at her belt in his hand.
Bai Lingxi cried out in alarm, desperately trying to escape: "I am not..."
Zhou Jin grabbed the round, plump hand in his hand and gently squeezed it: "Xi'er is naughty, see how I teach you."
The angel was eventually drawn into love by the evil god. The two were entangled in each other's company, sometimes floating on the surface, sometimes falling to the bottom of the river, sometimes swimming slowly, sometimes in a storm, their breaths mingling and becoming tainted with each other's scent.
After the rain subsided, Bai Lingxi had already fainted from exhaustion. Zhou Jin gently kissed her delicate brow, dressed, and entered the side hall. He moved very gently and carefully, afraid of disturbing the little girl.
Zhou Jin spoke calmly, her voice filled with satisfied pleasure: "Speak."
The dark figure kneeling before him was Guard Number One, the person he had sent to stay by his side.
Bodyguard Number One: "Your Majesty, the Empress went to Yong'an Palace, and Consort Yi told Consort Rong everything she had done."
As he spoke, the First Bodyguard handed the recorded evidence to the Emperor.
The emperor didn't even look at it. He had long known about Consort Yi's evil deeds, but he just didn't know how to punish her. In the struggles of the harem, it was never one person's fault, but it was his own child who was being harmed. Consort Yi deserved to die long ago.
Now that the Bai family has given Xi'er to him, the Bai family can be spared the death penalty. However, he is afraid that exile is too severe a punishment. If something happens to Xi'er's family, he is afraid that Xi'er will feel estranged from him.
Zhou Jin didn't realize that a hole had opened in his heart, and he was slowly taking Bai Lingxi inside, unwilling to hurt her in the slightest.
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