On the day when Zhuang Wanqing was buried in the concubine's tomb, Zhuang Luoyan stood on the Moon-Watching Pavilion in the palace and watched the funeral procession leave. The spring morning breeze made people feel a little chilly, and even her heart felt cold.
"My queen, it's time to go back." Ting Zhuzhu Zhuanglu Yan put on a cloak and glanced at the almost invisible funeral procession, "This is how it is in the harem. If you are favored, you can be in the limelight. If you lose favor, everyone can bully you. If you don't plot against others today, others will not let you go."
Zhuang Yuyan turned around and was about to go downstairs when she suddenly saw a lot of carriages rushing in from the east gate. She asked, "What are those carriages for?"
"Your Majesty, you have forgotten that today is the day when new brides enter the palace. The people sitting in the carriages are daughters from various places or certain officials' families. If the emperor values any of them, they will stay." Ting Zhu watched the carriages enter the palace gate, and behind the carriages was the slowly rising sun.
Even with the morning sun shining, this scene does not seem to have any sign of life.
Zhuang Weiyan watched this scene in silence. It was another group of women who had lost their freedom. Those who stayed would have to live in struggle for the rest of their lives.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Even if there is a new person entering the palace, your position in the emperor's heart will not change." Ting Zhu saw that Zhuang Yuyan was silent and thought that she was worried about what would happen after the new person entered the palace, so he couldn't help but speak to comfort her, "Shugui Consort of Anqing Palace has always been favored by the emperor. Many new people have entered the palace in recent years, and the emperor has never been indifferent to her."
Zhuang Yuyan smiled and said, "What are you thinking about? I'm just feeling sentimental."
What are you sighing about? Tingzhu is a little confused.
When turning around and walking downstairs, Tingzhu heard his master speak a few words.
"When spring is over, the beautiful flowers will die, which is a pity."
There were twenty or thirty ladies in brocade clothes standing in the Luanhe Palace. All of them were good-looking. They looked at each other with hostile intentions, but no one dared to act presumptuously in such an occasion. They all lowered their heads and waited for the arrival of other ladies.
On such occasions, all the concubines in the harem who were of the second rank had to be present. Although these women were young and energetic, they also knew that they could not offend these high-ranking ladies.
"Xu Zhaorong is here."
The women all bowed and carefully looked at Xu Zhaorong, who was as delicate as a willow in the wind, and indescribably elegant and charming.
Xu Zhaorong glanced at the standing women, and a hint of arrogance appeared on her delicate face.
"The Concubine Shugui has arrived."
The women present all knew that Concubine Shugui was a very favored concubine, and after seeing who she was, they couldn't help but feel ashamed of themselves. Although Concubine Shugui was not dressed very luxuriously, she was stunningly stunning, and people couldn't help but avoid her brilliance.
"So Hyun-yong is here!"
Hearing this announcement, the women became more cautious again. Although this lady's status was not as high as that of Consort Shugui, she had been in the palace for only over a year and had already been promoted to the position of Xianrong. She was also extremely favored by the Emperor. Before she entered the palace, her family had already reminded them that this lady should not be offended easily.
When So Hyun-ryong walked in, the women felt that although she was not as beautiful as Consort Shuguifei, she had her own characteristics, especially her pair of eyes that were full of life and the gentle aura that emanated from her.
"Girls, please don't be so polite," So Hyun-yong said as soon as she spoke, and her clear voice was heard. Although it was not a rare voice, it made the listeners feel comfortable. It can be seen that So Hyun-yong had her own characteristics to be so favored by the emperor.
Zhuang Yuyan allowed the woman below to look at her carefully. After exchanging greetings with the other concubines present, she chose a suitable seat and sat down. Seeing that the person sitting opposite her was the fragile and strong Xu Zhaorong, she slowly, slowly shifted her gaze away.
Soon, the other concubines arrived, and the empress also arrived with the hand of a palace maid. Then they waited for the emperor, the common goods of the concubines, to appear. As for the empress dowager, the emperor's mother, she said that she wanted to worship Buddha sincerely and had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the harem.
The emperor brought a bunch of wives to select a younger wife, the scene should not be too harmonious. Zhuang Yuyan glanced at the dozens of beautiful women standing below, and didn't know which beauties would be thrown into the battlefield of the harem.
She felt sorry for these beauties, but each of them had great ambitions, which really proved the saying that one cannot understand the joy of fish unless he is a fish.
"Just now I saw a lot of flowers blooming in the Yu Garden. They are so colorful that it dazzles the eyes," the Queen looked down, "It seems that these days are a good time to enjoy flowers."
"The Empress is a person who cherishes flowers, so naturally she can't appreciate them," said Concubine Shugui with a smile on her face, not looking at the group of women standing below. "I am a simple-minded person, and I only like one or two kinds of flowers. No matter how beautiful other flowers are, they are not beautiful to me."
"It's good that Concubine Shugui is so fond of me," the Queen smiled and exchanged glances with Concubine Shugui. "Tomorrow the Imperial Palace will hold a flower viewing banquet in Yu Garden. You can enjoy your favorite flowers."
Zhuang Yuyan lowered her head, too lazy to listen to the verbal battle between the Empress and Consort Shugui. Occasionally she would look at the various beauties below, waiting for the Emperor to come and pick someone to take away.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
The real master finally arrived. Zhuang Yuyan and everyone else stood up and saluted. They saw the emperor walk past a group of beauties and sit down on the golden nanmu dragon-patterned chair at the top.
"No need to be polite," Feng Jian glanced at the women in the audience, then turned his gaze to the concubines sitting there, "Does Her Majesty see anyone suitable?"
"I think each of these women is good, but Your Majesty needs to come and make your own judgment." The Queen's answer was flawless.
Zhuang Yuyan glanced at the emperor who had the word "scumbag" written all over his body. Asking his wife to choose a concubine for her husband was not a very heartbreaking thing. Being an empress was not an easy job.
Throughout history, countless empresses have fallen at the hands of scumbag emperors, and countless women who have shared joys and sorrows with founding emperors eventually became lonely empresses without the emperor's favor and had to compete with young concubines.
Of course, Zhuang Yuyan felt that she was also one of those who were against the empress's profession. This kind of opposing stance was really helpless, but no matter what, the emperor was definitely the creator of the tragedy in the harem.
Monsters like the emperor are mostly trash to women. They have high health and high attack, making them difficult to defeat.
While Zhuang Yuyan was mumbling in her heart, the emperor had already started to select beauties. Every time a woman came forward, an eunuch would read out her age, name, and family background, and then the emperor would decide whether to keep her or not.
"Hua Hongxiu, seventeen years old, daughter of the Minister of Rites."
"I, Hua Hongxiu, pay my respects to His Majesty, may His Majesty live long. I pay my respects to Her Majesty, may Her Majesty live a thousand years. I have met all the ladies."
As the saying goes, "The green gauze waits for the moon to tune the zither in spring, and the red sleeves add fragrance to the night reading." When Zhuang Yuyan heard this name, she couldn't help but look down. Whose wicked parents gave their daughter such a name that seems elegant but is actually frivolous?
The kneeling woman below was wearing a peach-colored silk skirt and a simple hanging bun. The black hair hanging by her ears made her skin look as soft as a baby's. Although her small face was not stunningly beautiful, it was very pure and sweet.
"Your name is Hongxiu?" Feng Jin looked at the girl below, "But is it the Hongxiu that means 'Hongxiu adds fragrance'?"
"Your Majesty, I am indeed this Hongxiu." The girl raised her head and smiled at the emperor with an innocent look on her face.
Reading banned books on a snowy night, red sleeves adding fragrance to the night...Zhuang Yuyan glanced at the girl with a kind and innocent smile on her face. Does this girl really not know or is she pretending to be naive?
Feng Jin nodded and said calmly, "Stay."
The eunuch serving nearby immediately wrote down Hua Hongxiu's name and began to call the next person.
However, after calling many women, the emperor did not nod. The only ones left behind were Hua Hongxiu, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites, and Yan Yuchan, the daughter of the Chief Academician of the Imperial College.
As fewer and fewer women left, there were still only two left. The faces of the concubines present were all good until the last woman appeared.
"Ning Shengyu, 18 years old, daughter of the Junior Official of the Dali Temple."
If Zhuang Yuyan were asked to describe Ning Shengge in words, she would only say she was a peerless beauty. Ning Shengge was not only stunning, but also had a sense of being out of this world. No one here could match her beauty.
Not to mention the other concubines, even Concubine Shugui's face darkened. If such a person of such a color entered the harem, I'm afraid that everyone else in the harem would be outshined.
Feng Jin stared at the woman named Ning Shengyu for a long while before he slowly spoke, "Stay."
Zhuang Luoyan discovered that although the emperor looked at Ning Shengyu for a while, and there was a hint of surprise in his eyes, there was no trace of astonishment. This was enough to show that this emperor was destined not to become an emperor who ruined his country because of beauty.
The Queen glanced at Consort Shu Gui and praised her, "This Miss Ning is quite beautiful."
"That's all," Feng Jin waved his hand calmly, "Just the three of us. My harem is quite full, so there's no need to keep too many people."
"I know that Your Majesty is concerned about state affairs, but you should also take care of your health," the Queen consoled.
"I know, the Queen, you don't have to worry about me," the emperor glanced at the people still standing below, "everyone, go away, I should go back to the Qinzheng Palace to handle government affairs."
"Farewell, Your Majesty." The Empress and the concubines stood up and saluted, watching the Emperor leave with dignity.
After leaving the Luanhe Palace, Zhuang Yuyan looked up at the clear sky, then turned to Tingzhu behind her and said, "The weather is good today, why don't we go to the open space behind our palace and release some paper finch for a while."
Tingzhu and Yunxi looked up at the sky. Yunxi said, "It's indeed a good day to fly paper ibis."
After dealing with the urgent memorial in his hand, Feng Jian left the Qinzheng Hall. He looked up by chance and saw a colorful peacock ibis flying in the sky. He squinted and looked at it for a while, "Where did this come from?"
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this should be from Xihe Palace." Gao Dezhong looked up and continued, "The weather is pleasant today, no wonder Zhao Xianrong wanted to release paper finch for fun."
"In that case, I'll go and take a look too." Feng Jin became interested. After taking a few steps, he saw the empress coming towards him with the palace maids and eunuchs. He had no choice but to stop and wait for the empress to come over.
"I've seen the emperor," the queen stepped forward and bowed.
"Does the Queen have anything to see me about?" Feng Jin glanced at the Queen, then looked up at the paper oriole floating in the sky.
"Your Majesty, I want to ask what positions Your Majesty is going to give to the three new people who have just entered the palace?" The Queen followed the Emperor's gaze and happened to see the beautiful peacock ibis.
"What is there to ask? It's just that I just entered the palace. Yan Yuchan and Hua Hongxiu were both given the title of Talented Lady. Ning Shengyu is not bad looking, so she should be given the title of Noble Lady." Feng Jin retracted his gaze, "If the Queen has nothing else to say, please leave."
The smile on the empress's face froze a little. She bowed to the emperor and then left silently. When she was out of sight of the emperor, she looked up at the paper iris in the sky again and asked expressionlessly, "Which palace is that from?"
"Your Majesty, I think it's Xihe Palace," He Yu said sarcastically, "Zhao Xianrong is in a really good mood." She is flying paper orioles at this moment, and I don't know if she is really happy or just pretending.
The queen looked at the peacock swaying in the air with a complicated look in her eyes, "Who in the harem wouldn't be interested?"
Feng Jian arrived at Xihe Palace and just as he approached the backyard, he heard Zhuang Yuyan's laughter, pure joy and relaxation.
"My lady, please loosen the line a little. It's windy right now. Be careful not to break the line."
"Don't worry, I know how to put it up. Hey, Tingzhu, your little swallow hasn't been put up yet."
Listening to this naive conversation like that of a young girl, Feng Jin suddenly remembered that her appearance was no more than that of an innocent eighteen-year-old.
When I stepped into the backyard, I saw Zhuang Yuyan, with her hair a little disheveled and her face rosy, squatting on the grass in an untidy manner. The sunlight shining on her face was so bright that it was dazzling.