Chapter 211: The Maids of Chuxiu Palace
"Hurry up, we've arrived at Chuxiu Palace, let's go in quickly, otherwise we'll get wet and catch a cold, which will be terrible."
In the misty rain, a group of beautiful girls were moving, some lifting their skirts, some shielding themselves from the rain, and some running...
When they ran to the corridor, they saw Emperor Xuanwu and Jiang Xinyue on the side. The girls knelt down in panic: "I have seen the emperor and the virtuous concubine!"
The crisp voices were also pleasant to the ears.
There were also a few faces that looked familiar, but Jiang Xinyue didn't have a deep impression of them. Tang
Shiliang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Xian, these are the noble ladies who entered the palace with Concubine Xian."
Jiang Xinyue was shocked. She had been in the palace for two years, and these concubines were still living in the Chuxiu Palace, which meant that the emperor had never favored them. There
were six concubines in total, looking at the emperor with sparkling eyes, completely ignoring Jiang Xinyue's existence.
"I, the daughter of the prefect of Jiangnan, was feeding jinli with my sisters in the nearby jinli pond when it suddenly rained heavily. I didn't expect that the emperor and the empress Xian were also trapped here. It would be better to go to Chuxiu Palace to rest together, which is more comfortable than standing here."
The girl was wearing an apricot-colored dress embroidered with flowers, birds, fish and insects. She was as fresh as a white and green magnolia in May. The rain washed her hair around her ears a little loose, and a few strands of hair hung beside her cheeks. Her clean and refreshing temperament was eye-catching.
She was very brave. Others did not dare to take the lead, fearing that Jiang Xinyue would stare at her, but she dared to be the first to do so.
Either she was stupid and brainless, or she had enough confidence in herself.
After Emperor Xuanwu saw the face of the concubine clearly, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
She lowered her head to look at Jiang Xinyue: "Yuer, you are wet too. You have to wait for them to bring the clothes back. Why don't you go inside and let them find a new dress for you to change into."
Jiang Xinyue nodded: "Then I'll trouble Liu to agree."
The six concubines who have not been favored so far are from humble families, otherwise they would not have been left until now.
This time to see the emperor may be their only chance in this life.
Otherwise, next year will be the triennial selection, and a large number of young, beautiful, fresh and innocent girls will live in the Chuxiu Palace. These concubines who have not been favored by the emperor for three years will be sent to the palace maids and become lowly maids to serve people.
They entered the palace to be queens. If they had to do the work of serving others, they might as well not have participated in the selection. Their families were not high-ranking officials at all, but they were ladies from official families who had never touched the water of the spring spring water. They were pampered with fine clothes and food. They did not enter the palace to be palace maids.
So when Emperor Xuanwu entered Chuxiu Palace, it was like Tang Monk entering Pansi Cave. Everyone tried their best to make the emperor remember them.
Liu Danying from the Jiangnan water town even performed a Wu Nong soft song for Emperor Xuanwu while Jiang Xinyue went to change clothes.
When the eyes moved, there was infinite tenderness and affection.
Jiang Xinyue was standing at the door listening to Liu Danying's sweet and soft singing voice, and she stopped to enjoy it.
Xi Que and Shuang Jiang thought that their queen was secretly sad because the emperor was so engrossed in the song, and they both showed some anger.
Although they knew that the emperor doted on their queen and it was impossible for them to have only one woman in his life, but... but...
anyway, they were very angry.
When the song ended, Liu stepped forward gently: "Your Majesty, in fact, all the sisters in Chuxiu Palace have special skills. An can play the flute, Ye is good at dancing, Wang is a good swordsman, Bai is very good at writing poems, and when Cheng plays the piano, even the butterflies in the garden will fly around her!"
"Oh?"
The others didn't feel anything, but it sounded very strange to hear butterflies flying around people.
Emperor Xuanwu had never seen it before, and he was quite eager to try it. It happened that the rain stopped at this time, and the eunuch who Wang Dequan ordered to get clothes finally came back and ran into Jiang Xinyue at the door.
The sound of the ceremony was heard, and Emperor Xuanwu found her standing outside the door. Afraid that she might misunderstand him, he quickly stood up, walked past a group of beautiful girls, and came to her: "Yuer, Liu Danying said that Cheng Danying can play the zither to attract butterflies, do you want to see it?"
There was nothing new in the palace day after day, and Emperor Xuanwu didn't feel bored because he had to deal with so many state affairs every day and had no time to feel bored.
But the concubines in the harem were different. They waited for the emperor to favor them day after day, and they couldn't leave the palace and had nothing to do, so most of them would find it boring.
The emperor just looked at these beautiful girls today as if they were having fun, and didn't take them seriously at all.
If they could make Concubine Xian laugh, it would mean that they still had some real skills.
Liu Danying was just a leader who was instigated by others. It seems that Cheng Danying, who attracted the emperor's attention, is the real master.
She didn't even speak to the emperor alone from beginning to end, but she beat all the other five beauties.
The emperor was only interested in her skill of playing the piano to attract butterflies.
But Jiang Xinyue looked at the expression on Emperor Xuanwu's face. Although he tried his best to cover it up, it was because he laughed too many times that it was too abnormal. He was not such a laughing person.
The third prince was poisoned and unconscious. He must be very uncomfortable in his heart. How could he be in the mood to watch these beauties perform shows to compete for favor?
She shook her head: "I just got caught in the rain and have a headache. Let's go back! When the weather gets better, if the emperor still wants to watch, how about I summon them to Hexi Palace to perform?" "
I have not considered it carefully."
Emperor Xuanwu supported her and turned away without any reluctance. He did not forget to ask Xi Que to go back first: "Ask the small kitchen to cook a pot of ginger soup."
Jiang Xinyue watched from the corner of her eye. Liu Danying seemed very unconvinced and was held down by the other girls to prevent her from speaking nonsense.
But after the emperor's procession went away, Liu Xiaoxiao still shook off the sisters' hands unhappily: "We finally got to see the emperor and showed our faces in front of him, but we still couldn't keep him. Are you really willing to be palace maids?"
Cheng Nianhe sighed: "We are unlucky. If the Concubine Xian was not here today, we sisters would definitely be able to keep the emperor with our beauty."
"It's all Concubine Xian's fault. She's favored herself. She doesn't even know us sisters who used to learn the rules with her in Chuxiu Palace. Not only did she not say a few good words for us in front of the emperor, she also didn't let Sister Cheng perform. It's obvious that she's afraid that Sister Cheng will stand out and take away her favor."
Liu Xiaoxiao snorted coldly: "She can keep it for a while, but can she keep it for a lifetime? I don't believe that the emperor will never have anyone else."
She seemed to have come up with a plan, and her bright eyes were filled with determination to win.