In the blink of an eye, half a month later, Lin'an ushered in the long-awaited Beisai good news, Gongsun Zixi led the 20,000 Gongsun army from the garrison to Wu set off north, and the second road reinforcements led by Pi Liben converged in Itch City, ambushed Yueshi overnight, beheaded more than 1,000 ranks, captured several important enemy generals, and captured military horses, weapons, grain and grass and other baggage. Although it was a small victory, the court was greatly relieved.

When the whole country rejoices, Yan Jieyu, who has been thinking behind closed doors in the Yuchen Palace, is sad and bleak, there is no newcomer in the Jin Palace for many years, Yan is the most favored concubine after the death of Mrs. Mulan, the emperor has no children, Yan looks forward to being able to give birth to children, after all, from ancient times to the present, it is a man who governs the world, even if there is a female emperor, it is also under the premise that there is no male heir to inherit the unification, if she wins the man in one fell swoop, the princess is bound to fall from the firmly seated East Palace, and there is no possibility of succession.

The calculation of Wuchengfu has always been a taboo for the survival of palace people, the former favorite concubines have become today's laughing stock, the first moment it is still infinite, and the next moment it has become an ant trampled on, and the high-ranking people who affect the fate of the Yan family have regarded her as a shoe, and it is not easy to turn over again.

For the other concubines, the loss of power of the Yan clan is not a good thing, the snipe and the clam compete for the fisherman's profit, the big stone that pressed on the heart of Queen Xu fell, and the princess was only one step away from the throne of the Mirror Palace, and any possibility before this would plunge her mother and daughter into a place of no return.

Emperor Yuan You proposed that one or two people with both ability and political integrity were selected among the ministers' daughters to serve in the East Palace, and Empress Xu, as the mother of the princess, put down this matter and planned for the princess wholeheartedly.

At this time, it is late autumn, and the autumn flowers in the garden are ready to bloom.

On the crooked cobblestone path, two ceremonial guards came over, and they were the ceremonial drivers of the two princesses Cao Tao.

The ceremonial driver stopped at the most luxuriant place of the flower tree, and a clever little maid ran to the bottom of the tree with her skirt, tiptoed to pick a bud with dew drops and delivered it to Princess Tao.

"Do whatever she wants, where will she put our princess's face." As she spoke, Princess Tao threw the bud on the ground, stepped on it and crushed it repeatedly, as if she was as happy as trampling Yuan Lingjun under her feet. Princess Tao is only thirteen years old this year, only two months younger than Yuan Lingjun, petite and slender, younger than Yuan Lingjun, so whatever she says is only regarded as a child's temper.

Princess Cao didn't immediately say anything, staring at the budding flowers and trees in the round garden. This year's autumn flowers are late, and the flowers are not blooming for a long time.

Princess Cao rolled up her sleeves to pick the golden cinnamon hanging in front of her forehead, a black shadow suddenly appeared under the stone cave, floating gently, Princess Cao pushed aside the bushes, and a black head poked out from under the stone of Taihu Lake, grinning at her. The palace people who did not know the situation behind them immediately let out an exclamation, and some attendants even quickly blocked in front of the two princesses.

"Hey, what are you talking about? It's good to rest my face on my head, don't throw it around, I'm afraid of stepping on it. ”

Yuan Lingjun resigned in front of the saint in the Changji Temple, talking about her being impeached by the courtiers for being absurd in political affairs, the father and daughter each held their own opinions, and quarreled a few words without saying a word, and was kicked out after being scolded.

"Who are you? It's shameless to dare to eavesdrop on me. Princess Tao's heart was weak, and her little face turned red.

"But what you're saying is bad for me, Princess." Yuan Lingjun's tongue-learning appearance was very funny, amusing a group of palace people. The palace people didn't dare to laugh out loud, and lowered their heads one after another.

Princess Tao stomped her feet and walked to the front.

"It's not big, it's not small, it's not polite!" Yuan Lingjun flattened his mouth and muttered.

With the help of the maid, Yuan Lingjun climbed up from the bushes, jumped on the ground, all the dirt and grass clippings in her clothes fell out, and scattered them all over the ground, she pulled her long messy hair back to her shoulders, and stood in front of Princess Cao with her sleeves in her arms.

"Last time I went back to visit the annex, Liudi's injuries haven't healed yet, but now he's getting better?" Princess Cao stretched her sleeves and bowed to the other party.

Yuan Lingjun returned the salute: "I'm tired of lying down, come out for a walk." Oh, Fourth Sister, where are you going? ”

Princess Cao looked puzzled: "The queen is waiting for guests in the middle palace today, and I will send my sister to go." Liudi didn't get an invitation? ”

"Oh, I almost forgot if my sister didn't say it. In this case, I happened to walk with the four sisters. Yuan Lingjun has always been disgusted by the banquet between the women of the harem, but this time he suddenly had a strong interest.

The king's entourage usually consisted of no less than twenty people, including servants, fumu, attendants, female officials, and guards, in addition to some maids and chamberlains. As a princess who has not received the title, Princess Tao has more than fifteen people around her, and sometimes even usurps the number of monarchies. Yuan Lingjun has always been a loner and has not followed others, which makes her seem to be very casual.

The front hall of the middle palace is the queen's main palace, which is used to set the province in the morning and dusk on weekdays, entertain guests, and gather here to celebrate with the palace concubine and emperor during the festival. There were a lot of guests invited to this banquet, and dozens of young men and women standing outside the side pavilion of the corridor were all maidservants brought out of the guests' homes, because they could not enter the hall to serve, they all waited in the corridor to wait for the summons.

This palace banquet was extraordinary, and the daughter of Uncle Xu, who returned to Lin'an Benzong this summer, also received an invitation.

"The last time I saw Chunyue was many years ago, when the princess was eight years old, and now the princess is nineteen, but after a while, the spring moon has also grown up."

The woman tilted her upper body slightly, placed her hands on her abdomen, and bowed her head to express her gratitude to the queen, and when she raised her head, she revealed a white and slender neck, which was very graceful and elegant.

The girl who was mentioned by the queen is twenty-nine years old, her maiden name is Xu Chunyue, she is wise, beautiful and quiet, and she is the most outstanding among the many nieces of the Xu family.

"When I obeyed my father's order to leave home, at that time your mother still told me that you were weak and could not withstand the long-distance bumps, and you were afraid that it would be difficult to choose a relative in the future. Speaking of marriage, can your father mention it to you now? ”

Xu Chunyue's cheeks flushed slightly, "The courtiers are not often in the house, and the family has not chosen a family affair for the courtiers, and it is too hasty to return to Beijing this time, and my father said that it needs to be considered carefully." ”

Xu Chunyue's father, Xu Xiao, is the queen's brother-in-law, and Xu Guo's uncle who speaks loudly in the temple. The identity of the descendant Xu family is high, and the object of the children's marriage is a famous family, Xu Chunyue worshiped in Lushan Academy when she was young, and now she is a teacher, and her identity is no longer within the reach of ordinary famous women.

Speaking of the famous Lushan Academy, Empress Xu was quite interested, "Lushan Academy is the first academy in the south, and the gentleman who teaches and solves doubts comes from all over the world, and is a famous wise man. Chunyue, what do the gentlemen of the academy teach you on weekdays? ”

Last night, her father had a long talk with her, and Xu Chunyue felt that the temptation was at this time, the queen ostensibly invited the eunuchs and ladies, but in fact, she chose to study for the princess, and in the future, the princess will become the emperor, and the attendant will likely become a female official in front of the palace. Her father had expected this day, so he sent her to Lushan Academy among the many women of the Xu clan, and her father carefully arranged to pave the way for her and clear the obstacles, firmly believing that the second Wei Ruoji of the Jin Kingdom came from the Xu family.

The acolyte is limited to two, and she must take one of them. Thinking carefully about the words her father had instructed, Xu Chunyue felt an invisible pressure enveloping her body.

"Mr. teaches the state dignitaries, seven strategies and elegance, usually the courtiers also study calligraphy and painting, the courtiers especially love the Southern Dynasty painting style, recently in the copying of the stone landscape works."

The seat was suddenly full of sighs and appreciation. The stone is a famous painter of the Southern Dynasty, the landscape, birds, flowers, especially long in the mountains and rivers, the painted "Autumn Mountain Desire for Rain" flows into the Chen State, for the hobby of famous paintings to collect the Chen Emperor obtained, Emperor Chen sent people to the Jin Kingdom several times to visit, once threw a lot of money to hire the Stone for the Chen court painter.

Piano and chess, calligraphy and painting, poetry and books, ritual music has always been the compulsory skills of the Southern Dynasty scholars, good at and proficient is an important basis for determining the status in the family, can imitate the stone painting can be the name of the guests of the Tianhuang Seat, the Southern Dynasty people have been deeply influenced since childhood, determined to have greater attainments in these aspects, so up to the court down to the common people are vying to follow the imitation, diligent practice, from which to explore the pen skills.

Empress Xu, who is well versed in the affairs of the family, is very satisfied, she has the intention of cultivating her niece as a female official in front of the palace, and uses the family people as the arms of the princess to help, and will do her best to share worries and solve difficulties for the king. This idea is even more unwavering at this time.

"Queen." The inner attendant under the threshold stepped in, "The two princesses of Changshan Hall and Cao Tao have arrived. ”

Hearing this, the guests left their seats one after another to greet them.

As soon as the three imperial maidens entered the main hall, their eyes fell on them in unison. The young girl has seen the true face and demeanor of the royal princess, as well as the king of Changshan who "said goodbye to Lin'an in anger" back then, and today's banquet in the middle palace is just an excellent opportunity for them to make friends with the princess and bring benefits to the family.

The ladies looked at the visitors without losing measure, compared and guessed their identities and quickly came to the result. Princess Cao is quiet and calm, kind and generous, and in the year of Princess Tao's cardamom, her appearance has not yet grown, and her arrogance has not diminished. Several royal daughters have arrived, and the nine-year-old Princess Tongqing is sitting on the table, her lips are pale and colorless, and she looks preoccupied, which is really not suitable for her immature age.

Yuan Ling didn't care about the prying eyes of others, she was also looking at the people in the hall, but she only glanced at it roughly.

There are more than a dozen people sitting on the east and west sides of the main hall, and the female guests are deeply dressed and wide-sleeved, and their waists are hung with jade groups. These women have the children, nephews, and cousins of the queen's concubines, and the families and daughters of dignitaries, among whom there is also a young man who is "a little green among the flowers", and the young man has not yet been crowned, and his appearance is ordinary.

Several people stepped forward to salute Queen Xu, and then sat down one by one.

The queen ordered the palace people to serve tea. The edict was damaged, and the palace did not dare to disobey the order and extravagant, and only entertained with melons and fruits, refreshments, and coarse grain cakes. The children of the aristocracy have a good upbringing, and these snacks have always been just watched and not eaten.

Yuan Ling didn't have this kind of awareness, she was a little hungry, picked up the melons and fruits that no one had touched, and while nibbling on them, she felt the unusual atmosphere in the room.