Li Zicheng didn't expect that there was a better woman in the palace than Fei Zhen'e, so he was surprised, and then longed to see it with his own eyes. But he seemed to be casual on the surface, and seemed to ask Li Yan very casually: "Li Yan, what do you think of the Dou family?"

"Your Majesty, this Dou clan is not an ordinary palace maid in Ciqing Palace, she is a six-rank female official. Although Yi'an is the queen of the previous dynasty, she has been widowed for seventeen years, and she is not the lord of the six palaces of the Chongzhen Dynasty, but she is not only the queen of the apocalypse, but also the imperial sister-in-law respected by Chongzhen. Dou is a female official of the master of ceremonies, who has nothing to do on weekdays, accompanying Empress Zhang to read and write, play chess and recite poetry. Therefore, Dou is not only outstanding in appearance, but also elegant, gentle and generous, beautiful but not flattering. ”

"What's her name?"

"Her surname is Dou Meiyi, delicate beauty, appearance of the instrument, now twenty-one years old. ”

Li Zicheng turned to look at Song Xiance: "How should this matter be decided?"

Song Xiance said: "Please ask the emperor to summon Dou Meiyi into the palace tonight, compare it with the people of Fei Palace, and decide from the bottom of my heart." ”

Li Zicheng asked Li Yan again: "What does Li Yan mean?"

Li Yan said: "According to the practice of previous dynasties, choosing a concubine is a big deal. First by the emperor's decree, the Ministry of Rites notified the subjects of Beijing, first by the Ministry of Rites to select beautiful women, selected by the palace on a certain day, and asked the emperor and the queen to choose. But today is not a peaceful period, and it is not a selection of handsome and good family show girls in Beijing, but only from the palace maids, you can not go through the primary election of the Ministry of Rites, only summoned by the emperor once, you can decide, all red tape can be saved. ”

Li Zicheng smiled and nodded, and asked Wu Ruyi again: "Now there are two candidates, what is your opinion?"

Wu Ruyi replied, "Please Your Majesty summon Dou Meiyi to meet you tonight." If the Dou family does have both virtue and appearance, you might as well choose Dou Meiyi and Fei Zhen'e as concubines. ”

"Huh?"

"The minister heard that Chongzhen's Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan were selected to enter the palace on the same day. ”

Li Zicheng smiled slightly and stopped talking.

When Song Xiance and the other three close ministers withdrew, the palace maids came in to offer tea. Li Zicheng instructed Wang Ruifen to send a palace maid to Ciqing Palace to deliver the decree, and Dou Meiyi would be summoned tonight. summoned Fei Zhen'e last night, he did not pass on the decree in advance, and although he did not say his mind about summoning Dou Meiyi in advance, Wang Ruifen completely understood.

She knew that every time Emperor Chongzhen wanted to go to stay in the palace of Concubine Tian or Concubine Yuan, he would send the palace maids of the Qing Palace in advance to pass on the decree, so that the officials or the palace maids of the Yikun Palace could be prepared, and the graced maids should also bathe and dress up and prepare to take care of the car. If it is an ordinary palace family member or a palace maid who has been newly blessed and summoned, after receiving the order, quickly bathe and dress up.

Now Wang Ruifen thinks that since he has to summon Dou Meiyi to the dormitory half a day in advance, it must not be an ordinary summons. Moreover, she knew that Dou Meiyi had both virtue and appearance, and she was indeed the first among the palace laves, so she naturally thought that it was the emperor's summons.

Although Wang Ruifen is not a beauty, she is also above average. She once hoped that she would be favored by the new emperor and get rid of the fate of the old and dead palace, so when she added incense to the new emperor's bedroom last night, she added Mengxian incense to the Boshan furnace. Helplessly, the new emperor is not a person who is greedy for beautiful women, although she also saw that the new emperor looked a little emotional, but she never lost her sense of proportion.

Later, the emperor summoned Fei Zhen'e, she was full of hope that the tip would be favored by the emperor and become a nobleman, she begged the tip to say a few words for her in front of the emperor in the future, and let her out of the palace while she was young, meet her parents, and her parents presided over the marriage. But the tip was not left, and now Dou Meiyi is going to be summoned again. Not only was she not jealous or sad, but she hoped that Dou Meiyi would be chosen as a concubine. She told her female companions a few words about serving the emperor in the palace, and then took a little palace maid to Ciqing Palace.

The girls of Ciqing Palace saw her coming, because she was now the head of the palace maids in the new emperor's bedroom, and they didn't know what was going on, so they hurriedly greeted her. She climbed the Danqi of Ciqing Palace, turned back to the southwest, and shouted in a voice like a silver bell: "Dou Meiyi obeys the order!"

Dou Meiyi knelt north in horror and bowed her head. Wang Ruifen solemnly announced: "The emperor decreed, after today's dinner, the emperor summoned Dou Meiyi to bathe and change clothes, and prepare properly, and the palace maid will come to pick you up." Shane!"

Dou Meiyi kowtowed and said, "Thank you!"

Wang Ruifen didn't say a word and walked down the Danqi. The palace maids stood on the Dan Qi, bowed down and said, "Send Sister Ruifen!"

Wang Ruifen turned around in the courtyard and beckoned to Dou Meiyi. Dou Meiyi's shock was undecided, and she hurriedly walked down to His Majesty Dan, and when she arrived in front of Rui Fen, she shouted softly: "Sister Rui Fen!"

Wang Ruifen pulled Dou Meiyi tightly and said a few words. Dou Meiyi didn't speak, just her face was flushed, her heart was pounding, she nodded lightly, I don't know whether she was scared or excited, her autumn eyes were suddenly filled with tears, and she suddenly diverted the conversation, choked up and asked, "Yi'an Niangniang doesn't know if it's over?"

Wang Ruifen didn't answer, she glanced at Dou Meiyi affectionately again, let go of her hand, and left in a hurry.

Li Zicheng returned to the dormitory of Renzhi Palace, and immediately ordered Wang Ruifen to send the palace maid to call Dou Meiyi. After Wang Ruifen sent four palace maids to play four palace lamps, in order to make the emperor happy, he added Mengxian incense to the Boshan furnace, but after a while, there was a strange fragrance in the dormitory, which made Li Zicheng burn like last night, his heart shook, and he couldn't help but look at Wang Ruifen several times. The strange brilliance in his eyes made Wang Ruifen shyly lower his head and avoid his gaze.

Li Zicheng asked Wang Ruifen, "Have you seen Dou Meiyi before?"

"Back to the emperor, the slave has seen it many times. Every year on New Year's Day and Empress Yi'an, the slave maid goes to Ciqing Palace with Tian Niangniang to congratulate her, and always has to meet her. On Tian Niangniang's birthday, Yi'an rewarded gifts, Tian Niangniang returned gifts, and always sent slaves and maids to bring two palace maids to accompany the palace steward and eunuch to meet Meiyi. Therefore, the slave maid always has to meet with Dou Meiyi several times a year. ”

"How is Dou Meiyi's character?"

"Her appearance is very beautiful and generous, which is rare among the palace maids. I heard that Emperor Chongzhen had intended to accept her as a concubine three years ago, and he also mentioned it privately to Queen Zhou, but because Yi'an only had this intimate person around him, he didn't want to have Yi'an's intentions, so he didn't say it explicitly, and then the state affairs deteriorated day by day, so he didn't mention it anymore. ”

"I heard that she likes to read and write, and she can also make poems, right?"

"She does make poetry. Once Empress Zhou took Tian and Yuan to see Empress Yi'an, and during the chat, Yi'an ordered Dou Meiyi to present a few poems she had recently made to Queen Zhou and Tian and Yuan to read. Empress Zhou and Emperor Tian both wrote poems, and although Yuan Guifei did not make poems, she often read poems. They read Dou Meiyi's poems and praised them, and gave them a lot of jewelry and clothing. ”

"Oh, it's rare!

Li Zicheng couldn't help but think of the poetess Deng Taimiao in Xi'an, praised it again and again, and asked Wang Ruifen: "Is Ciqing Palace far from here?"

"Back to the emperor, Ciqing Palace is behind the Duanjing Palace, much closer than Kunning Palace. Dou Meiyi had already bathed and dressed up after receiving the order in the afternoon, and at this time she should have passed the west lane of the Wenhua Hall and was about to enter the Huiji Gate. ”

Li Zicheng smiled slightly, and said in his heart: "Dou Meiyi, regardless of whether the person is beautiful or not, this name is very good." ”

Since Wang Ruifen passed the decree, Ciqing Palace has been busy, some palace maids whispered congratulations to the Dou family, and some said that she had a good life, and the family would enjoy endless wealth and glory. Under the arrangement of the housekeeper of Ciqing Palace, four palace maids prepared warm water for her bathing, and two palace maids brought red basket charcoal, set it up in a copper brazier and lit it, and when it had passed and there was no longer the smell of charcoal, they carried the red brazier into the small bathing room to fill the room with heat, and then diligently took care of Dou Meiyi's bath.

The two maids, according to the instructions of the housekeeper's wife, prepared the clothes, skirts, shoes, hats, and jewelry that should be worn, and the other two palace maids put several dresses to be worn on the smoker cage and smoked them fragrantly. After dinner, Dou Meiyi dressed up with the help of the palace maids and sisters. She wears a purple dress with a round neck and narrow sleeves. The placket gown, all over the thorns and branches of tender yellow small sunflowers, each small sunflower surrounded by a circle of money. Inside the gown, tie a pleated red Luo skirt.

From the waist hangs a ribbon embroidered with gold thread beads and silver bells at the lower end. Feet wear foundation embroidered bow red embroidered shoes. He wears a black gauze hat with begonias embroidered on both sides of the hat. There is a ruby in the center of the hat and a circle of pearls around it. There is a delicate golden step on the top of the black gauze hat, and a small golden bell falls on the phoenix tail. Under the black gauze hat, the cloud temples are exposed, and the dark cloud temples and the tender white pink cheeks are contrasted. An ear is exposed under the cloud temples, and the earlobe has a very elegant pearl jade earring.

Four palace maids were sent from the Renzhi Palace, and two palace maids were sent from the Ciqing Palace. Six palace lamps, a gust of incense wind, out of the Ciqing Gate to the west and then to the south, after the Yuanhui Hall of the sandwich road, from the front of the right door of Guan Sui to come to the Wenhua Palace, Duanjing Hall and the provincial residence to form a palace surrounded by a red wall.

Dou Meiyi bypassed the high wall of the Wenhua Palace in this group of palace lamps, walked forward from the West Clamp Road, crossed a white stone bridge, and walked a short distance to turn right, and entered the Huiji Gate, commonly known as Zuoshun Gate. Bypassing the front of the five beautifully carved white marble gold water bridges between the noon gate and the Huangji gate, they came to the Guiji Gate. As soon as I got out of the Guiji Gate, I saw the Wuying Gate.

Dou Meiyi and a group of palace maids walked all the way, and the closer they got to the palace courtyard of Wuying Palace, the more they couldn't calm down. When approaching Wu Yingmen, her legs were almost limp.

She is different from the palace people of Ganqing Palace and Kunning Palace, she has no relationship with Emperor Chongzhen and Empress, and the pain of losing the country is not so strong, so none of the many palace maids in Ciqing Palace committed suicide by throwing themselves into the river with Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong. Everyone stayed in the palace, with sorrow and fear, waiting for the arrangement of fate.

Dou Meiyi was originally very concerned about the national fortunes of the Ming Dynasty because she was by Empress Yi'an's side, and knew that the country was falling day by day, but she didn't expect the sudden demise of the country. She originally thought that Empress Yi'an hated the Hakka clan and Wei Zhongxian in the Apocalypse Dynasty, and rarely met the Emperor of the Apocalypse, and later the queen was young and widowed, lonely and deep in the palace, and she was the only one among the many palace maids in Ciqing Palace who could accompany the queen to play the piano and play chess, read and write, couplet sentences between flowers, and chant poems under the moon.

Therefore, the queen refused to let her out of the palace, she had to prepare to accompany the queen for another nine years, and when she was thirty years old, she begged Niangniang to allow her to be a female Taoist priest in the palace. Unexpectedly, the Ming Dynasty suddenly died in the country, and the new emperor actually knew that she was outstanding, and he was lucky tonight. Although she was twenty-one years old, she grew up in the strict Ciqing Palace, beside the widowed queen, and she never thought about being called to be lucky, and she never thought about men and women.

When she entered Wuyingmen and walked inside, she felt her legs softer, her cheeks hotter, and her heart beating wilder. With each step, the little silver bell on the ribbon hanging from her waist and the little golden bell on the black gauze hat made a pleasant sound at the same time, so that the female companions could not hear her heartbeat. In fact, when she approached the Ninchi Hall, she herself felt that her heart was about to reach her throat.

Wang Ruifen waited to greet him on the altar of the Renzhi Palace. Although Dou Meiyi has no friendship with Wang Ruifen, she has known each other for a long time, she saw Wang Ruifen greeting her with a smile, and felt a little relieved, as if she had met an old friend in a strange place, and she almost rolled out of tears. Wang Ruifen held one of her hands, felt her hand feel a little cold, and quickly approached the root of her ear and whispered: "Don't be afraid, the new emperor is very merciful." ”

Wang Ruifen instructed the six palace maids with lanterns to rest outside the hall, and took Dou Meiyi alone into the Xinuan Pavilion of the Renzhi Palace, which was Li Zicheng's temporary bedroom. There are two warm pavilions in the east and west, and the place where Dou Meiyi is summoned is in the outer room.

Dou Meiyi is a woman who has been cultivated by feudal etiquette and the special environment of Ciqing Palace, and she was still blushing and flustered about being summoned for the first time, and as soon as she walked into the Renzhi Palace, she suddenly became afraid. In the past few years, she has been familiar with Li Zicheng in the deep palace as a leader of thieves, attacking cities everywhere, killing people and setting fires, and she was unfortunately born at the wrong time, once she died in the country, she was brought to the front of this rebellious thief. The shame on her face suddenly turned pale.

Wang Ruifen, who was walking in front, stood seven or eight feet away from Li Zicheng, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, Dou Meiyi is here by order!"

Then she took a step to the side, allowing Dou to come forward and salute. Hearing only the sound of the silver bell, Dou Meiyi took two steps forward with small steps, knelt down and kowtowed, and said in a nervous and trembling voice: "Slave Dou Meiyi, kowtow to the emperor!

When Dou came in with Wang Ruifen, he lowered his head and didn't dare to look up, so Li Zicheng couldn't see all her faces, and only felt that her beauty was different from Fei Zhen'e, and it was also different from Wang Ruifen, but her demeanor was generous, graceful and luxurious, and she was indeed the choice of the concubine.

"Don't be afraid, keep your head up!"

When Dou raised his head in accordance with the order, Li Zicheng was suddenly startled and looked at Dou's face. He was surprised, not because Dou's appearance was indeed beautiful, but because he seemed to have seen it before. Strange, Dou grew up in the deep palace, how could he seem to have seen it? But he immediately stopped thinking nonsense, and asked Dou with a smile: "I heard that you read and write every day by Empress Zhang's side, and you can also recite poems, which is different from ordinary palace maids. I want to ask you, the Ming Dynasty has nearly 300 years of history, why did it die?"