On July 20, the primaries began. In order to be selected smoothly, the Yin family personally took Deng Sui to Beijing in advance and lived in the old mansion in Beijing. She is full of confidence, and with Sui'er's beauty, she will definitely be selected.

On the day of the primary election, Sui'er was thin and powdered, wearing a light blue dark coat and a long white dress embroidered with silk and clouds. A dark blue chrysanthemum-embroidered belt is tied around the waist. The lacquer-like black hair was combed into an anti-bun, with only a pure gold chrysanthemum cloth on the side of the bun, and the blue gemstone earrings on the ears swayed, matching with her clothes, it looked noble and outstanding.

She saw Yin Xiaohe standing at the front of the team from afar, dressed in a pink colorful dark flower cloud brocade deep coat, the color was festive and not outstanding, the figure was slender, and the body was enchanting, which was very eye-catching.

The pageant ordered the crowd to divide into five groups, register them one by one, and ask for information. The beauty pageant assigned to Sui'er's group is still young, about twenty years old, and it is the first time to be on this errand, and he looks extremely nervous in front of many beautiful girls. However, in accordance with the rules, the physical characteristics and family background of the girls participating in the election were registered one by one. When he arrived in front of Deng Sui, his eyes suddenly lit up, his eyes looked straight, and he was silent for a long time. Sui'er smiled secretly, pulled the corner of his clothes slightly, he was stunned, and then coughed embarrassedly, and recorded in the book, Sui'er saw him and wrote: "Thin eyebrows and phoenix eyes, mouth like Tudan, a thousand styles, the beauty of the beauties." I couldn't help but feel funny, and I didn't dare to speak and wait for him to ask.

"How old are you? What is your name? He asked softly in a soft voice.

"The little girl Deng Sui is twelve years old this year." Deng Sui replied with a light salute.

"Twelve years old. But the stature is high. He looked Deng Sui up and down again, and wrote again, "The figure is excellent." ”

"What do you do at home? Can you read? ”

"My father is Deng Xun, the captain of the Qiang school, and my mother is the Yin clan, the lord of Yingxue County. Sui'er is not talented and knows a few words. Sui'er replied eloquently, generous.

"It turned out to be the granddaughter of the old lady, which is really extraordinary. But what kind of skills? He glanced at Deng Sui, saw her beautiful eyes, looking at herself, and her heart began to beat. Almost lost his temper again.

"Sui'er, Qin, chess, singing and dancing!" Deng Sui sees what he answers, and he can deal with it freely!

"Okay, stand on the left side of the line. Wait for internal inspection. He turned to the next girl, but he couldn't help but glance back at Deng Sui, and sighed in his heart, so beautiful. It's hard to come by.

Follow the rules. If the beauty pageant thinks that it is qualified, it will be inspected internally, and if it is qualified, it can officially participate in the personal election of the emperor and the queen mother.

The internal inspection is done by the female officials in the palace, naturally, Sui'er's skin is better than snow, soft as boneless, and it is the best choice.

Wait until you leave the palace and return to your residence. It's time to hold the lights, and the beauty pageant informs. The list will be released in three days, and the selected candidates can go back to wait for the temple to be selected.

There is no need to publish the list, Sui'er also knows that she has been selected. It's just that the list still has to wait. It's just that the Yin clan is in a hurry and uncertain.

The day of the list has arrived, Sui'er's name is in the first place, Yin Li is in the third place, and the second is a woman named Song Jun, but I don't know whose daughter it is. The Yin family is overjoyed, which shows that Sui'er is really the best among all the women. I can't wait to beat the gongs and drums to celebrate, and while rewarding and thanking the teacher, I will arrange to return to the house.

The matter of being selected, that is, it is reasonable, Sui'er did not care too much. I was just worried about where my father had gone, I didn't know if my brothers were willful, and I didn't know what my father's condition was, so I was waiting in this anxiety.

Since the beginning of August, some people in the family have come to visit, talk more about entering the palace and take care of them in the future. The Deng family has always disliked this kind of thing, and they received it at first, but then they disappeared.

Deng Xun's news came one after another in early August, Deng Xun was seriously ill, day by day, seeing that he was terminally ill, Li Xia was afraid that his family was in a hurry, so he sent an attendant home one day to report the news, but he was seriously ill and difficult to return, so he had to leave the frontier.

August 15 is a good day for Deng Sui to enter the palace. On August 14, the Yin family ordered people to prepare to enter Beijing in advance early in the morning, but at this moment, they saw a fast horse galloping like a gallop, stopped in front of the mansion, and the person who came cried and dismounted, but it was Deng Kui. Yin was shocked and hurriedly asked, Deng Kui cried: "Mother, my father has passed away. ”

"What?" Yin felt dizzy and fainted to the ground.

Deng Sui had already sat in the car, was lifting the curtain to watch, and suddenly put it down, it was time to come, or to come. She didn't cry, just smiled bitterly, got out of the car, and instructed: "Carry the lady in, Deng Shun, arrange manpower, except for auspicious funerals, arrange a mourning hall in the house, and go to the treasury to support the silver." Sister Yu, arrange for the family to change their mourning clothes, third brother, follow me to my grandmother to report the news! As he spoke, he tore off the red jade hibiscus on his head and walked slowly towards the inner hall.

In the blink of an eye, the Deng Mansion, which was originally lively and happy for Deng Sui's entry into the palace, suddenly cried and shook the sky. Although Deng Xun does not smile on weekdays, he is very generous and sincere to his subordinates, and everyone in the house is grateful to him. died suddenly, and died in a foreign land, all of which were painful.

When the old grandmother heard the news of her son's death, she cried and pulled Deng Sui and Deng Kui and said: "Xun'er, he is over fifty, he is not an early mourner, and he is loyal to the country, and he died in office, he is also worthy of the name of his ancestors, and the body does not have to be transported back, so he will stay in Biansai, and let the people who thank him there hang it!" Kui'er, go to your two brothers, report to the court, go to Biansai, and give your father a ride! ”

Deng Kui cried and nodded, and seemed to have matured a lot in an instant. He turned around and went out to report the funeral, leaving Deng Sui and his grandmother in tears. The old grandmother asked: "Sui'er, you will enter the palace tomorrow to choose, don't cry and red-eyed, get up quickly, let your mother prepare, and get up later!" ”

Deng Sui shook his head: "The filial son is so great that he respects his relatives." What's bigger? It's all about yourself. Things, things are also the foundation of things. How could Sui'er not go to the palace to find some glory and wealth for his father's filial piety, this matter is absolutely not feasible! Although Sui'er has a brother, she only has one daughter, Sui'er, and my father taught me that I should not be close to each other and not be a human being. Sui'er decided to keep filial piety for her father for three years, if she had to enter the palace, after three years, it would not be too late for Sui'er to choose again. ”

The old grandmother was in tears, stroked Sui'er's head and said, "Sui'er." Grandmother is deaf, it is not as clear as you see things, but this will delay your future. You're a daughter. You don't have to be like your brothers, and your father doesn't want that! ”

Deng Sui cried and fell into his grandmother's arms, "Grandmother, my father has loved Sui'er the most since I was a child, taught me to write with his own hands, taught me to read the Bible sentence by sentence, and respected Sui'er's teachings. Now that her father is gone, Sui'er can't take filial piety to the palace anyway, and then accompany Xiao to serve the king. Please grandmother to do it. Sui'er is determined to keep filial piety for her father for three years! ”

The old grandmother sighed: "That's it, since Sui'er has made up her mind, how can grandmother stop it anymore, filial piety is the greatest." There you go. Although your mother is strong, she is afraid that she will be sad at this time, and the affairs of the family will have to be handed over to your daughter's family. ”

"Whoa!" Sui'er held back her tears, withdrew, arranged for someone to take care of her grandmother, and went to see the Yin family.

Yin was lying on the ground, with a forehead strap wrapped around his head. His face was full of misery and tears. She married Deng Xun, and the two had three sons and a daughter, and the couple were harmonious and never quarreled. Now I haven't seen each other for two years, but it has become an eternity, and the sadness can be imagined.

Sui'er sighed and walked to her mother's side, took her hand and said, "Mother, my father has gone, you have to mourn, the whole family has to be arranged by your mother!" ”

Yin shook his head: "Let me cry, your father is gone, my father and wife are deeply affectionate, and no matter how many things are at home, I don't want to care about it." You go and ask Deng Shun to do it, they are all old family members, and they can be arranged. Sui'er, you should go to Jingzhong, you don't have to worry about family affairs. ”

Deng Sui said lightly: "Mother, I have already made it clear to my grandmother, Sui'er gave up this palace election and kept filial piety for her father for three years!" ”

"What? How can this work? Yin forgot to cry, sat up straight, and said, "Sui'er, have you forgotten what your mother told you?" It's-"

"Mother, don't say it, Sui'er has made up her mind. The affairs of the family, the mother had no intention of taking care of it, and Sui'er came. She stood up, looked at a few faint clouds floating in the sky, closed her eyes, and tears slipped down again. Father! ”

August 15 palace election began, a total of 50 women were selected, the Empress Dowager Dou refused to participate in the return on the grounds of illness, Liu Zhao was not reluctant, with the civil and military officials came to the palace ** to see together, he also wanted to let the world see, he finally cut off the Dou relatives, on the eve of his first choice to marry a concubine, he really became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. And choosing a concubine is the first big thing!

The palace selection is held in the Hehuan Palace, the hall is large and wide, the walls and pillars in the hall are all painted with acacia flowers and cloud patterns, the mood is colorful, the class is beautiful, there is no dragon and phoenix and other common flower ornaments in the palace. This is exactly the original intention of the Hehuan Temple. It is said that the name of the Hehuan Hall is also due to the friendship between Emperor Guangwu and Yin Lihua here.

Liu Zhao glanced at the list, the first name, Deng Sui made his heart move, Sui'er, is it her? is actually the first place selected, yes, with Sui'er's beauty among many women, it also deserves this reputation. was thinking wildly, but he could hear the singer shouting: "The first group is in!" ”

Liu Zhao hurriedly sat up straight, looking forward to the appearance of Sui'er, who had been thinking about it day and night, but among the five people, there was no one he wanted to see. I only listened to the singer read the names and family history one by one. When he remembered Yin Xiaohe, he came back to his senses in disappointment, and saw a girl with bright eyes and bright teeth and a beautiful girl bowing lightly to him, and that expression was somewhat similar to Sui'er.

"Your name is Yin Xiaohe? Is it the daughter of Jijingo? Liu Zhao asked.

"Exactly, the little girl's nickname is Li'er, and she is still His Majesty's cousin." Yin Xiaohe deliberately dressed up brightly today. When she saw Deng Sui ranked first on the list, she was so angry that she made up her mind that she must overpower Sui'er today. I didn't want to, but I didn't see Deng Sui appear, the excitement in my heart was indescribable, and when I answered Liu Zhao's question, the little daughter's attitude was revealed, and she was even more innocent and cute.

Liu Zhao smiled: "Exactly, isn't it my cousin, there is a large peach blossom forest in your house?" ”

"Yes, the peach blossom forest is full of peach blossoms every spring, and it is beautiful. If Your Majesty is interested, Li'er will take you to see it in the future! Yin Li said happily with a smile on her face.

"Is you the only daughter in your family? Do you have a sister or sister? ”。 Liu Zhao was still thinking about the events of that day.

"Li'er is my father's orphan daughter and has no sisters." Yin Xiaohe didn't know what Liu Zhao was thinking, but he wondered why he asked this.

"Okay, that's it, Li'er, stay in the palace today, well, you will be crowned a nobleman!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yin Xiaohe gave a salute, with an innocent smile on his face. Seeing Liu Zhao's gloomy mood, he also felt better, and then went to see other women, and saw that Song Jun, who was in the first place, had an excellent appearance. And he stayed.

After ten groups, Liu Zhao left twelve women, but he never found Sui'er. And Deng Sui, who was in the first place, never appeared.

When the election results were over, he called Ren Tun and asked, "What about Sui'er?" ”

"Your Majesty, are you asking about Yin Xiaohe? She's already selected! Ren Tun asked puzzled.

"Nonsense, the yin filial piety in your mouth is not the girl I saw flying in the peach forest that day. It's not the Sui'er I'm looking for. I ask you, where is this No. 1 Deng Sui? ”

Ren Tun replied: "Your Majesty, I don't know if this woman named Deng Sui is the person Your Majesty is looking for. However, the minister heard that Deng Sui's family came to ask for guilt, because Deng Xun, the captain of Huqiang, died suddenly. Deng Sui decided to give up the draft. That's why I didn't run today. ”

"Deng Xun's daughter? Isn't that my elder? It's just that, I don't think it's the Sui'er I'm looking for. She's still young, maybe not yet draft-ready age, so I'll wait, wait, wait. "There was a lot of loss in my words.

(Postscript:

Deng Xunqiren:

Deng Xun had great ambitions when he was young, and he didn't like it, and his father Deng Yu often blamed him. In 57 A.D. (the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan), Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Han Ming Dynasty ascended the throne. Deng Xun was originally appointed as Langzhong. Deng Xun likes to be kind to others, Corporal Lixian. Most of the scholars took refuge in his disciples.

During the Yongping period (58 A.D. - 75 A.D.), the imperial court ordered the tredging of the Yutuo River and the Shijiu River, from Dushu to the Yangjicang, in order to make the transportation between the two places. The officials and people of Taiyuan were suffering from hard labor and did not complete it for many years, and countless people fell into the water and drowned in the 389 dangerous places through which Caoyun passed.

In 78 A.D. (the third year of the founding of the first year), Emperor Liu Wei of the Han Dynasty appointed Deng Xun as the confidant and sent him to supervise the matter. After investigation and calculation, Deng Xun knew that this matter was difficult to succeed, and reported all the situation to Emperor Zhang of Han. Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty listened to his advice, so he stopped the project and switched to donkey cart transportation, saving hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and preserving and rescuing thousands of people in service.

At the same time that Shanggu Taishou Ren Xing wanted to kill Chisha Wuhuan, Wuhuan held a grudge and tried to rebel, and Emperor Zhang of Han issued an edict ordering Deng Xun to lead the soldiers of the Liyang battalion to guard the fox slaves in case Wuhuan rebelled. Deng Xun appeased the people in the border area, so that the people in the Youzhou area had a place of obedience and trust.

In 81 A.D. (the sixth year of the founding of the country), Deng Xun was promoted to the captain of Wuhuan, and most of the old subordinates of the Liyang battalion helped the old and the young, and happily followed Deng Xun to move to the frontier. When the Xianbei people heard of Deng Xun's prestige and kindness, they did not dare to approach Biansai to the south.

In 83 A.D. (the eighth year of the founding of the first year), Liang Hu, the son of Princess Wuyin, was guilty, and Deng Xun was summoned to return to his hometown because of the crime of communicating with Liang Hu without permission.

In 86 A.D. (the third year of Yuanhe), Lu Shuihu rebelled, appointed Deng Xun as a confessor, took the car of the post station to Wuwei, and worshiped Zhangye Taishou.

In 88 A.D. (the second year of Zhanghe), Zhang Xuan, the captain of the Qiang Guard, booby-trapped and burned Dangqiang Miwu and others, so the Qiang tribes were very angry and plotted to take revenge, and the court was very worried about this matter. The ministers recommended Deng Xun to replace Zhang Xun as the captain of Huqiang. The Qiang tribes were very angry, so they dissolved their former enmity with each other, concluded marriages, exchanged hostages with each other and formed an alliance, gathered more than 40,000 people, and agreed to cross the Yellow River to attack Deng Xun after it froze. Previously, the Hu people of the Xiaoyue clan were scattered in the Sein, and the two or three thousand cavalry who could fight were all brave and strong, and every time they fought with the Qiang people, they were often able to win more with less. Although they are both rats, the Han Chinese also often shelter and use them. At that time, Mi Wu's son Mi Tang, with a total of more than 10,000 horsemen and Wuwei Qiang, came to Saixia, did not dare to attack Deng Xun, and first wanted to coerce the Yueshi Hu people. Deng Xun's escort was delayed, so that the two sides could not fight. The strategists all believed that it was beneficial for the Han Dynasty for the Qiang and Hu people to attack each other, and that the use of Yi people to attack the Yi people should not prevent them from fighting. Deng Xun said: "No. Now Zhang Xuan does not pay attention to credibility, the Qiang tribes are in a big move, the Han Dynasty usually garrisons no less than 20,000 troops, the cost of transporting military supplies, exhaustion of the money in the warehouse, the officials and people of Liangzhou, the lives are in danger. The reason why the Hu tribes are not satisfied is because we do not care for them and have insufficient credibility. It may be useful to appease them with kindness now while they are in a critical situation. So he ordered the gates of the city and the gate of the garden of his own house to be opened, and all the wives and children of the Hu people were brought in, and they were heavily guarded. The Qiang people robbed but did not gain anything, and they did not dare to approach the Hu tribes, so they retreated and left. From then on, the Hu people in Huangzhong said, "The Han Dynasty often wanted us to fight each other, and now Deng Yuanjun treats us with kindness and credibility, and opens the door to accommodate our wives and children, so that we can reunite with our parents." Everyone kowtowed happily and said, "We only listen to Deng Yuanjun's orders." So Deng Xun adopted hundreds of young and brave people and took them as his retinue.

The custom of the Qiang and Hu people is to be ashamed of dying of illness, and whenever they are seriously ill to the point of danger, they commit suicide with a knife. When Deng Xun heard that someone was seriously ill, he arrested him and tied him up, did not give him a knife, and sent a doctor to treat him with medicine. Then he sent money to the tribes of the Qiang people, so that they could attract each other and come to submit. Mi Tang's uncle, I took my mother and more than 800 families of the tribe and surrendered from outside Cyprus. Deng Xun then levied 4,000 soldiers of the Qin, Hu, and Qiang people in Huangzhong, and attacked Mitang in the valley, killing and capturing more than 600 people, and seizing more than 10,000 horses, cattle, and sheep. Mi Tang left the Great Elm Valley and the Little Elm Valley and lived in the Poyan Valley, and the people were scattered. In the spring of this year, Mi Tang wanted to go back to his old place to engage in farming, so Deng Xun requisitioned 6,000 people in Huangzhong, and ordered Changshi Ren Shang to lead him, sew leather to make a boat, put it on a raft to cross the Yellow River, attack Mi Tang's tent Haoqiang, and kill many prisoners. He also took advantage of the victory to pursue to the north, and it happened that Ren Shang and others were attacked by the Qiang people at night, so the Qiang people and the Hu people who volunteered to follow and defeated the Qiang people who attacked the sneak attack, killed more than 1,800 enemies before and after, captured 2,000 prisoners, captured more than 30,000 horses, cattle and sheep, and almost all the Mitang tribes were wiped out. Mi Tang then gathered the rest of his men, moved to camps, and traveled more than a thousand miles west, and all the small tribes that had previously belonged to him betrayed him. The leader of the burning tribe Donghao came to kowtow and plead guilty, and the rest of the tribes also knocked on the door to pay the pledge. As a result, Deng Xun appeased and accepted those who came to join him, and his prestige was greatly established. So he dismissed the soldiers guarding the border and let them go back to their original counties. Only more than 2,000 prisoners were left without torture equipment, and they were scattered in the border gates and tuntian, helping the poor to cultivate and repair the fortresses.

In 90 A.D. (the second year of Yongyuan), the general Dou Xian led his troops to defend Wuwei, Dou Xian thought that Deng Xun was familiar with the policies and strategies of dealing with the Qianghu people, and the court asked to send Deng Xun to accompany him. Deng Xun had a deep friendship with the Ma clan and was not close to the Dou clan, but when Dou Xian was killed, he was not implicated.

In the winter of 92 A.D. (the fourth year of Yongyuan), Deng Xun died of illness at the age of fifty-three. The officials, the people, the Qiang people, and the Hu people loved him, and thousands of people came to cry every day in the morning and evening. Rong customs: When parents died, they were ashamed to mourn and weep, and they all rode horses and sang and shouted. When they heard that Deng Xun had died, no one shouted the trombone, and some people cut themselves with knives, and killed their dogs, horses, cows, and sheep, saying, "Deng Yuanjun is dead, let's die together." Previously, when Deng Xun was the captain of Wuhuan, the officials and people under him were all running on the mourning road, so that the people in the city were empty. The officials grabbed them and refused to let them go, and wrote a report to the school captain Xu Pseudo. Xu Pseudo sighed and said: "This is affectionate and righteous." And he released them. So the Wuhuan family set up an ancestral hall for Deng Xun, and whenever he was sick, he prayed in front of Deng Xun's ancestral hall.

In 105 A.D. (the first year of Yuanxing), Emperor Han and Emperor because Deng Xun was the father of Empress Deng Sui, sent a messenger to Deng Xun's tomb with a talisman, gave a letter of advice to add a title, and posthumously named Pingshou Marquis, and called Jinghou. Empress Deng Sui personally cried and sacrificed, and civil and military officials gathered in a big way. (To be continued......)

Chapter 65: Bad News: