Choosing a Concubine
At this moment, the East Palace was filled with solemnity.
Xiao Junbai, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, has only just turned twenty years old and is known for his harshness and cruelty.
The day for selecting a concubine had been set long ago, but today was not a peaceful day. Someone dared to collude with the palace servants to murder the prince.
They were all killed by the prince in the Eastern Palace.
Blood flowed like a river, and the stench of blood was sickening.
As the chief steward of the Eastern Palace, Cheng Xi could not escape the blame for this negligence. He knelt on the ground with a group of palace maids, trembling, with lowered brows and eyes, not daring to raise his head.
Xiao Junbai was covered in blood. He changed into a dark grey brocade robe and sat upright in the middle, his back straight and his eyes looking straight ahead, holding a handkerchief in his hand to wash his hands.
The slightly deep voice was calm and even, "If you are guilty, accept your punishment; if you are innocent, be diligent. Mother and the Queen will be here soon. If you don't want to serve, why are you kneeling here?"
Cheng Xi raised his head cautiously and asked carefully, "Your Highness, do you want to choose another day for the selection of a concubine?"
The prince had carefully selected his concubine on the day he chose her, but unfortunately, this incident made the selection process less suitable.
Firstly, it would be easy to offend the distinguished guests in the harem. Secondly, those who participated in the selection of concubines were all delicate young ladies from wealthy families. They had never seen such a scene and were easily frightened.
Xiao Junbai thought for a moment and said, "No need."
Since today has been chosen, why choose another day and add unnecessary trouble?
Outside the vermilion palace gate, young ladies who are more beautiful than flowers gather here, waiting for everyone to gather and enter the palace together.
Qi Qinghe was the last to arrive. She ignored the warnings and impatience of the maids and nannies. She was either hungry or wanted to go to the toilet on the way, so she dawdled for a long time and arrived at the last moment. By then, everyone had been waiting for a long time under the scorching sun.
"Hey, whose daughter is this? She's making us wait so long." One of them, wearing pink clothes and silver hairpins, was the first to sneer, causing the others to whisper.
"Alright, alright, now that everyone is here, let's all go into the palace together, so as not to make His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Majesty the Queen wait anxiously." The girl standing in the front was wearing a light blue gauze dress, which set off her red lips and white teeth, making her look extremely gorgeous.
As soon as she opened her mouth, all the girls echoed her and entered the palace together. They were led to the East Palace by the palace maids who had been waiting for a long time.
Qi Qinghe pursed her lips and followed.
"Tsk, you just love to act so majestic, as if everyone knows you." A faint complaint came from behind her. She turned around and saw a girl in plain white clothes with lively and smart fox eyes.
When the girl heard what she said, she touched her nose, smiled slightly, and wanted to walk past the crowd quickly.
Qi Qinghe blinked, gently pulled the girl's sleeve, and asked in a soft voice who the girl who had just spoken was.
"Ah, don't you know her?" The man in white opened his eyes wide in surprise, looked at her and then at the group of people walking away in front, and asked in a low voice.
Qi Qinghe didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that the girl was a little excited. She nodded hesitantly, "My...my father just returned to Beijing to take up his post this year."
She was thinking about the maids and nannies' preaching on the way here, and she spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully.
"So that's how it is." The woman in white raised her voice instantly, then quickly covered her mouth and looked around. Fortunately, there was no one around, and the palace servant who led the way was less than ten steps away from them, so it was impossible for him to hear what they were saying.
"Fu Jingyuan, she is the niece of the current Empress's mother's family. She grew up with our Crown Prince as childhood sweethearts. She looks gentle and harmless, but behind the scenes she acts like a Crown Princess, acting pretentiously and pretentiously."
"So that's how it is." Qi Qinghe listened, thoughtful.
It seems that her previous idea of giving up on choosing the Crown Princess was a pretty good idea.
Who would want to go against the Queen and her mother's family? Isn't that seeking death?
She chatted with the girl in white all the way and learned that the girl's name was Liu Shu, and she was the daughter of the Minister of Revenue of the previous dynasty.
The two of them lagged behind the people in front of them by half a step, and when they stepped into the East Palace, there was no one behind them.
A few palace maids came towards them, carrying something covered with white cloth and walking out in a hurry, almost bumping into them.
"My dear lady, please be careful, come this way." Cheng Xi, the chief steward of the East Palace, who was staring at the palace maids cleaning, exclaimed, walked over here with small steps, and led the two of them to the main hall with a smile.
Unexpectedly, when he turned the corner, he bumped into the prince.
Qi Qinghe was thin and weak, not as strong as the man. She was bumped into unexpectedly and staggered backward.
Fortunately, Liu Shu pulled her up and prevented her from falling.
Liu Shu raised her eyebrows and was about to ask what he was doing in such a hurry, but when she looked up, she was stunned.
The Crown Prince, Xiao Junbai, was handsome, with deep eyebrows and eyes, and a tall stature. He was more than a head taller than the two girls. His dark eyes were drooping, giving off a chilling coldness for no reason.
Liu Shu was stunned for a moment, swallowing her saliva constantly, and even forgot about the greeting.
Qi Qinghe had just stood firm, and before she could come to her senses, she saw the palace servants around her all restrained their expressions, calling out "Your Highness the Crown Prince" and bowing respectfully, without any trace of the casual chatting they had shown before.
She suddenly shuddered and hurriedly pulled the stunned Liu Shu aside, imitating the other palace maids and bowing, "Your Highness, I greet the Crown Prince."
This was her first time meeting the royal family, and she had never learned any etiquette. She was in a panic and saluted in a panic, even her voice trembling.
Fortunately, there were palace maids by her side, so she followed their example and barely acted rudely.
Liu Shu was suddenly awakened by her pull, and followed her to salute, her cheeks flushed and she didn't dare to look up.
Xiao Junbai nodded lightly, lowered his eyes from looking ahead, glanced at Qi Qinghe, and walked straight to the main hall without stopping at all.
When the prince walked a few steps away, Cheng Xi poked the two girls who had been watching him leave obediently, and said angrily, "His Highness is going to the main hall. Girls, why don't you hurry up and follow him?"
Since you are here to choose a concubine, it is a rare opportunity to travel with the Crown Prince. Why don't you seize this opportunity to greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Why are you standing there in a daze?
The two girls finally woke up from their dream and trotted to catch up with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
In the main hall, the Empress and the Imperial Concubine had not yet arrived. The girls were sitting in groups of three or four, chatting, laughing and playing, and seemed to have completely forgotten that there were still two people who had not arrived.
"The Empress has arrived, the Imperial Concubine has arrived." Following the voices of the palace servants, some straightened their clothes, some fixed their hair, and then the girls stood neatly in the hall, with a faint smile on their lips, bowing and saluting.
The Queen was wearing a golden phoenix robe, which was very conspicuous. She smiled and helped the person in front of her to stand up. "I knew long ago that you, little girl, would come. But you didn't come to me when you came. Maybe you think I'm old and ugly and useless?"
The one standing in the front was naturally a girl from the Queen's mother's family, named Fu Jingyuan.
Fu Jingyuan smiled and said, "Aren't you afraid of disturbing your aunt and causing criticism?"
As she spoke, she took a few steps forward, passed the palace maids, and helped her aunt sit down in the middle steadily.
The aunt and niece chatted with each other, paying no attention to the other girls.
These girls, which one of them is not spoiled by their families, have never been ignored like this.
Unfortunately, this person was the master of the imperial palace, so he couldn't vent his anger and could only silently blame Fu Jingyuan.
The Imperial Concubine was a few steps behind, talking to the palace maids beside her. With a bright and flamboyant smile on her face, she walked in slowly, exempted everyone from formalities with a few words, sat down below the Empress, and asked someone to invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
The selection of concubines begins immediately.
Before the palace maids went to invite someone, Xiao Junbai had already strode in, with an indifferent expression, nodded slightly, sat down directly beside his mother, and spoke to her softly.
…There were two girls following behind the prince.
Aren’t they Qi Qinghe and Liu Shu?
Liu Shu secretly groaned. She just wanted to avoid Fu Jingyuan and never expected it to be like this. Under the displeased gazes of the Queen and the Imperial Concubine, she saluted tremblingly and could not speak clearly.
Qi Qinghe didn't care about this. She had wanted to be eliminated in the first place, but after being late, she thought it was a sure thing. Her heart settled back into her chest, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, she bowed, her voice soft and gentle, like a yellow oriole.
There was no nervousness or trembling at all. It was completely unlike the first time he entered the palace and met the Empress and the Imperial Concubine.
This is completely different from Liu Shu who stumbles when speaking.
"Miss Liu and Miss Qi, could it be that you are lost? Next time, just look for a palace maid passing by. Why ask your cousin the Crown Prince to lead the way in person?" Fu Jingyuan pursed her lips and chuckled, glanced at the Queen, and then looked at her cousin the Crown Prince again.
Xiao Junbai sat upright, motionless, without even looking at the two latecomers, and continued to talk quietly with his mother.
It is hard not to think too much about Fu Jingyuan's words when she goes to the palace to look for the palace maids next time. Is she hinting that the two of them cannot enter the palace?
Liu Shu was already annoyed with her, but because of the Empress' presence, she couldn't lash out. After hearing this, she couldn't help but wonder, "Does she really think she's the Crown Princess?"
Her voice was not loud, and only three or two people around her could hear it.
These girls pretended not to hear it, and their expressions did not change at all.
Even though Fu Jingyuan couldn't hear, just by looking at the opening and closing of her mouth, she could guess that it wasn't a good thing. Her face immediately changed, her eyes reddened, and she looked at the queen eagerly, saying in a trembling voice, "Did this servant say something wrong?"
"If you want to say something, come forward and say it. Why are you hiding behind?" The queen frowned and called the two of them forward.
I didn't feel it at first because I was standing far away, but when I got closer, I could feel the majesty of the master of the central palace.
Qi Qinghe had never expected this to happen. Her legs were shaking and weak, and she kept swallowing her saliva. She didn't dare to look up at the Queen, and she almost walked forward with slow steps.
Liu Shu was not much better than her. Her legs were trembling and she kept her head down, acting like a quail.
Knowing she was being watched, Qi Qinghe sighed inwardly, digging her fingers deep into her palms, forcing herself to calm down, her mind full of flattery, "May the Empress be blessed with good health. This humble servant meant no offense, but it was just my first time meeting the Empress, and I was incredibly excited. I was disrespectful for a moment, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
"Miss Fu is a beautiful lady with both talent and beauty. She is also a rare lady from a prestigious family. I, your servants, feel inferior to her and should learn a lot from her. Please forgive me for my rudeness just now."
God knows, she had never read much, and now she was racking her brains to say all the nice things she knew.
If she still can't get over this disaster, then she really has no other choice.
Qi Qinghe's heart was dead, her crow-feather eyelashes drooped, her round almond-shaped eyes were dead, the redness on her face faded a little, her skin looked even whiter than snow, and her figure was as shaky as a slender willow, as if she would faint to the ground in the next second.
Xiao Junbai heard the voice, glanced at her, then retracted his gaze and turned to the queen, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin."
"Alright, alright. We are already this old, why are we still bothering with these little girls? Let's get started quickly. I want to go back and rest early." The imperial concubine smiled and tried to smooth things over according to her son's words. Her eyes followed the prince to Qi Qinghe.
He is not shy in situations, is polite and smart, and although his appearance is somewhat pleasing, it is not outstanding. Otherwise, he would be a pretty good candidate.
The Imperial Concubine averted her eyes, lowered her head to sip her tea, and listened to the aunt and niece at the top of the table talking to themselves. She had no desire to speak.
After hearing some flattering words, the imperial concubine and the prince gave her another chance. The empress chuckled and told the palace maids to begin.
Fu Jingyuan lowered her head and returned to the group of girls who were choosing concubines.
Rows of beautiful girls in luxurious clothes walked past His Royal Highness the Crown Prince one after another, and then waited quietly for the result.
However, what everyone did not expect was that Xiao Junbai looked at all the girls carefully, raised his hand and pointed at Qi Qinghe.
"I choose her."
Xiao Junbai's words successfully silenced everyone in the main hall.
Fu Jingyuan, who had thought he had it all figured out, froze in place, looking at his familiar cousin, the prince, in disbelief.
The Empress, who had been cheerful just now, was still smiling, but her expression changed instantly when she heard this. "Her? What's so good about her? In terms of family background, appearance, and talent, she's not even worthy of the title. Why would the Crown Prince choose her?"
"She is the most polite." Xiao Junbai and Qi Qinghe had only met twice, but both times she had greeted him in a dignified and graceful manner, unlike others who were flustered. Now, after listening to Qi Qinghe's words, this idea became even stronger. Now, after carefully looking at these girls, some were shy, some were bold, but only Qi Qinghe always had a faint smile on her lips, and her dark eyes were calm, which made her the most pleasing to the eye.
When he chose a crown princess, of course he had to choose one who was well-educated and well-mannered.
Qi Qinghe widened her eyes in astonishment and looked at the Crown Prince who was speaking in disbelief.
Her expression was strangely similar to Fu Jingyuan's.
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