On the first day of the second lunar month, it was the day to enter the palace to participate in the election of the crown princess, Chu Xiang got up early in the morning, changed into the clothes and jewelry that Qian'er had found the day before yesterday, lightly applied fat powder, and prepared to go out.

Qian'er looked left and again, smacked her lips, and said, "Although Miss is beautiful like this, she is too plain." ”

Chu Xiangwan glanced at himself in the glasses, didn't say anything, just raised the corners of his mouth inadvertently, and went out with Qian'er.

Chu Huaifeng was already waiting for his daughter in the lobby, and when he saw his daughter dressed like this, he couldn't help but admire in his heart that this child was really smart and knew how to restrain his edge. He nodded to Chu Xiangwan and only said, "Go early and return early." ”

Chu Xiangwan took Qian'er to the gate of the palace and got into the car sent by the palace, and soon arrived at the palace. The steward eunuch arranged the show girls in Chuxiu Palace to wait for the call, and Qian'er and these maids were arranged to another room to wait for the end of the draft.

Chu Xiangwan looked at the warblers and Yanyan in a room, and listened to them chattering about the palace and the prince, and felt depressed. She walked to the imperial garden alone, and there was a eunuch commanding the palace people in the distance: "Hurry up, sweep these petals on the ground, today is a big day, this mess is all over the place, what kind of system is it?" If the queen mother knows, our family can't protect you! ”

At this time, it is the early spring, and the imperial garden has not yet seen the peach and willow green, only the plum blossoms in winter are scattered all over the ground after blooming to the extreme, revealing a different kind of beauty.

Chu Xiangwan sighed: "Scattered into mud and dust, only fragrant as before." The flowers have passed away, but the soul is still there, but how many people know how to appreciate it? ”

At this time, I heard a male voice behind me: "A good sentence 'only fragrant as before', the girl regrets that no one appreciates it, but she doesn't know that she is a flower cherisher." ”

Chu Xiangwan turned his head and saw a young man standing behind him in an azure dragon-patterned brocade suit, the man in front of him was noble at first glance, but he gave people the feeling that he was as warm as jade, not arrogant or reserved. His voice is soft when he speaks, giving people a feeling like a spring breeze.

The man spoke again: "Is the girl lost?" Are you also a show girl who entered the palace to participate in the election? ”

Chu Xiangwan guessed that this man was the crown prince of the current dynasty, Fu Jingwen. Although he was lightly dressed, the dragon pattern worn around his waist was a symbol of the prince's status.

There is also a legend about this dragon pattern. Legend has it that in ancient times, there were two evil dragons in heaven and earth that plagued living beings and did evil everywhere, and tens of thousands of people died under their dragon claws. The gods of heaven then descended to earth and combined the strength of all to suppress the two evil dragons at the foot of Lishan Mountain. After Qin Shi Huang ordered people to excavate the imperial tomb at the foot of Li Mountain, the workers inadvertently found a piece of ink-colored jade, the jade was engraved with two dragons, the first emperor got this jade dragon heart is happy, thought that it was the emperor's destiny, so let the craftsman carve it into a pendant, and wear it after death to be buried in the imperial mausoleum.

Emperor Taizu, that is, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Huang Futian, was still a guard of the previous dynasty, and once led his troops to the foot of Lishan Mountain, and saw a person lying on the side of the road dying, so he ordered someone to rescue him. After this man woke up, he told Emperor Taizu that he was a tomb robber, and he spent a lot of effort to sneak into the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, and found the dragon pattern pendant worn by the first emperor, knowing that it was worth a lot of money, who knew that tearing off the dragon pattern pendant would touch the imperial mausoleum mechanism, so he was poisoned. Fortunately, Emperor Taizu's timely treatment, otherwise the lives of the tomb robbers would not have been saved. In order to thank Taizu for saving his life, the tomb robber handed over the dragon pattern to Taizu, and promised to change his mind and become a new person in the future.

At that time, the world was in turmoil, the rulers were brutal and unkind, rebels sprung up in various places, and the people were struggling to survive. The people around him thought that Emperor Taizu's dragon pattern was a good omen, and he should rise up, overthrow the tyranny, establish a new dynasty, and save the people from dire straits. So Taizu established his own country name "Zhou", and laid down the current country step by step, and this dragon pattern has since become a symbol of the prince's identity.

Chu Xiangwan saluted Wen Yifu to the emperor: "The people's daughter sees His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

Huangfu Jingwen smiled slightly: "You are very smart. Which show girl is it? ”

"The people's daughter Chu Xiangwan is the daughter of Zuo Xiang."

Chu Xiangwan kept her head down, so she didn't see the prince's surprised eyes when she reported her name.

"It turned out to be my cousin." Although Huangfu Jingwen's tone was light, Chu Xiangwan still heard a hint of cordiality, she didn't doubt her ears, but she didn't understand what the prince's overture at this time meant.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is serious, and the people dare not climb high."

"Cousin, why be polite, your mother and my queen mother are sisters, and it's okay for me to call you cousin."

Chu Xiangwan was suddenly stunned at the moment, the prince's attitude was so kind, she didn't know how to respond. It is said that the Fang family has long denied his mother, and it is impossible for the prince not to know.

Huangfu Jingwen seemed to see Chu Xiangwan's doubts, and continued: "I admire my aunt's courage, all the high-ranking families in this imperial city are pampered, my aunt can explore the wealth and is willing to give up everything for her lover, I admire it very much." ”

When Huangfu Jingwen said this, his tone was full of helplessness and appreciation. Chu Xiangwan understood what the prince meant, the crown princess was elected, but he could only stand in the imperial garden and enjoy the scenery, and who the emperor and queen had the final say, it was not about his feelings. As a prince, he can't even choose his own concubine. Chu Xiangwan couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic to the prince, but at this time, she didn't want to delay any longer, the identity relationship between the two was so embarrassing, if someone with a heart looked at it, I don't know how many turmoil it would cause.

As soon as she wanted to retire, a eunuch called her: "Miss Chu, Miss Chu, where are you?" Miss Chu······"

"His Royal Highness the Prince, the maiden has been out for a long time, and she can't delay any longer, so she will retire first." Chu Xiangwan is another blessing.

"There you go." Huangfu Jingwen turned around and stopped looking at her.

At the moment when Chu Xiangwan took a step, a sentence floated into her ears: "Dressed up so clearly, you don't want to be selected, and I don't want to." Chu Xiangwan paused slightly, temporarily suppressed the confusion in his heart, and returned to Chuxiu Palace.

The draft began, and Chu Xiangwan entered the main hall with everyone. In the middle of the hall sits the emperor of the dynasty, and on the left hand side sits the queen, the queen is dressed in a red palace dress, and a pure gold phoenix with a pearl is inserted in the middle of her hair, and the two temples are inserted horizontally with four jasper hairpins, the whole person is graceful and luxurious, but the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes betray her age. There is also a palace beauty on the right hand side of the emperor, presumably this is the most favored Sun Zhaoyi in the palace.

Before entering the palace, Chu Xiangwan had already heard that the emperor specially asked Sun Zhaoyi to participate in the election of the crown princess, although the harem was controlled by the queen, but at the moment, when it came to the weight in the emperor's heart, Sun Zhaoyi was the most important. This Sun Zhaoyi is much younger than the queen, her clothes are plain and elegant, white from the inside to the outside, from a distance, it looks like a slim magnolia shrouded in fog, although it is beautiful, but it is not real. At this time, the emperor talked to her, and she was not very enthusiastic, as if she was just a spectator of this game.

Entering with Chu Xiangwan was Fang Xiaozhou, the youngest daughter of the Hubu Shangshu Fang Pavilion, this girl was petite and exquisite, dressed up bright and lovely, and was indeed a beauty. But she didn't seem to have a good impression of Chu Xiangwan at all, and since she and Chu Xiangwan were grouped into a group and entered the main hall, her eyes were full of hostility. Chu Xiangwan's thoughts were completely opposite, and she was relieved to see that this Miss Fang was in a group with herself. Fang Xiaozhou's father and the queen are cousins of the same clan, this time she entered the palace to run for election, it is estimated that there is a ** meaning of the queen, since the people of the Fang family are here, then, others naturally have no chance.

"Chu-Xiang-Late." When the chief eunuch reported Chu Xiangwan's name, she took a step forward.

"The people's daughter sees the emperor, long live my emperor, long live long live. See Empress, Empress Chitose Chitose. ”

"It turned out to be the daughter of the left minister, and she really looked beautiful and showed off her wisdom. Sun Zhaoyi, you see that this girl's preferences in dressing are somewhat similar to yours, although it is plain, it is the same clear water out of hibiscus, and it is naturally carved. The emperor seemed to appreciate Chu Xiangwan's dress. As soon as this sentence came out, Sun Zhaoyi was still cold, but the queen's face was a little unnatural.

"Queen, it's not rude for this Chu Xiangwan and our prince to be a pair." The emperor turned to the empress.

"Your Majesty, the concubine didn't expect Chu Xiang's daughter to be so standard, looking at this girl's description and behavior, she is indeed generous, and the concubine is also very satisfied."

The queen's words were shocked, not only Chu Xiangwan, but the emperor was also stunned for a moment. thought that Fang Xiaozhou had the best chance, but the queen seemed to be interested in Chu Xiangwan. Chu Xiangwan couldn't figure out the queen's position anymore, she felt that when she entered the palace today, she seemed to be caught in a huge conspiracy. She looked up at the queen, and saw that the queen was also looking at her, the queen's eyes seemed kind, but in fact they were indifferent, but why were there some emotions that she couldn't understand, surrounded by her. But she had no time to speculate on what the queen meant, because at this point she heard the last thing she wanted to hear.

"Okay, the queen has a very good vision, and I have decided to make Chu Xiangwan, the daughter of Chu Huaifeng, the prime minister of the left, the crown princess." Although he didn't understand the queen's intentions, the emperor was happy to see such a result. Both sides have their own ideas, but the result is the same.

"Your Majesty, the concubines feel that Fang Shangshu's daughter Fang Xiaozhou is also very likable, although she chose the crown princess today, but it is okay to choose a few more good girls with good looks for the prince, what does the emperor think?" The queen's words were expected by everyone.

"The queen is reasonable, then let's make Fang Xiaozhou a good woman." Now that his goal has been achieved, the queen made a request again, and the emperor couldn't refute the queen's face, so he nodded and agreed.

Chu Xiangwan couldn't hear the conversation of the people in the hall clearly at this time, and she only had one sentence in her mind: "Chu Xiangwan, the daughter of Chu Huaifeng, the prime minister of the left, is the crown princess." "It happened too suddenly, Chu Xiangwan didn't expect that the emperor and queen reached an agreement in the end, but she became a pawn in the power game. She didn't want to step into this harem of disturbances, but the sky didn't obey people's wishes, maybe it wasn't that heaven was against people's wishes, but that she was in the imperial city, and everyone couldn't help herself.

After the draft, the show girls were led back to Chuxiu Palace, and the personal maids they brought into the palace were already waiting for their masters there.

Qian'er stood in the crowd and looked around, and as soon as she saw Chu Xiangwan, she stepped forward and grabbed her hand: "Miss, how is it, what is the result of the draft?" ”

"Let's talk about it later." Chu Xiangwan was no longer in the mood to say too much at this time, so he only took Qian'er's hand and walked all the way to the palace gate, and went straight to the carriage when he came.

Along the way, Chu Xiangwan didn't say a word, her face was pale, she opened the curtain of the carriage and looked out, and saw that the street was crowded and prosperous, she was very envious. Although her father doted on her, he rarely let her go to the street, perhaps because her mother died early, and her father was particularly concerned about her safety and didn't want her to be hurt a little bit.

She looked at the crowd on the street and felt that she had never been close to the real world, first because of her father's overprotection, and later because of the heavy shackles of the palace. Chu Xiangwan really wanted to rush out of the carriage and blend in with the noisy crowd, even if it was just walking aimlessly, she felt extremely real.

The curtain is down after all, since it doesn't belong to you, why bother with nostalgia. Chu Xiangwan turned his head, faced Qian'er, and smiled reluctantly: "Little girl, in the palace in the future, you must be cautious in your words and deeds." ”

Qian'er's eyes widened: "Miss, what are you talking about, palace?" So you mean you've been chosen as the crown princess. ”

"It's wonderful." Qian'er grabbed Chu Xiangwan's hand and danced excitedly, "I'll just say, with your stunning appearance, Miss, even if it is coarse linen, it is difficult to hide the beauty, and the emperor and queen must be satisfied." ”

Seeing that Chu Xiangwan was not at all happy, Qian'er reacted and asked, "Miss, I remember that you said that you didn't want to enter the palace." ”

"My fate is up to me." I don't know if I said it to Qian'er or to myself, Chu Xiangwan closed his eyes and didn't say anything all the way.

When he arrived at the gate of the mansion, Chu Xiangwan slowly got out of the car and entered the mansion without a sound. I wanted to go back to the house directly, and be quiet alone, but when I passed the main hall, I saw my father sitting in the hall, and she understood that there were some things that could not be avoided in the end.

Just as she wanted to open her mouth, Chu Huaifeng stretched out his hand to stop her: "Dad already knows the results, just before you come back, the stewards and eunuchs in the palace have already gone to various mansions to spread the draft results. As soon as Dad saw that it was the eunuch Chen Jing, the leader of the emperor's side, who came to deliver the decree, he knew that you had been chosen after all. Gonggong Chen said, the holy decree has been issued, and the wedding between the prince and you is scheduled for the first day of March a month later. The sentimentality in Chu Huaifeng's tone made the atmosphere even more gloomy.

"Dad, don't worry, my daughter is fine. Although it is not her daughter's wish to enter the palace, since it has become a fact, her daughter will not complain. In the future, her daughter will abide by etiquette in the palace, restrain her edge, and only ask her father to take care of herself. ”

"The reason why Dad is worried is that I heard that the queen also praised you this time."

"This is what my daughter is puzzled about."

In fact, the queen's move is a plan to kill two birds with one stone. There is a clear gap between the children of the Han family and the wealthy family in the court, and the power of the two factions is balanced. The wealthy family is headed by the Fang family, and the father's official position is the highest among the cold families, and the queen has already won the support of the wealthy family, if you are named the crown princess, the prince will ascend the throne in the future, you are the queen, how can my father, as the prince, not do his best for the prince? Originally, King Rui had repeatedly made military exploits at the border pass, and he had won the hearts of the people to ensure the peace of the frontier for several years, plus he was not born again, and constantly promoted the children of the poor men in the army, and the ministers of the cold men in the court all favored this prince. However, the crown prince has not made an inch," Speaking of this, Chu Huaifeng wanted to speak and stopped, "There are indeed people in the cold gate who hope that King Rui will replace the crown prince, so as to strengthen the momentum of the cold gate. But if you become the crown princess, that's a different story. If the queen wants to take the Hanmen forces into her pocket, she will inevitably promise favors, and when the Hanmen uses the prince, she will still be able to rise to prominence. And the crown prince has the support of both forces, and his position is naturally more stable. ”

For this Rui King, Chu Xiangwan has heard of it. Huangfu Jingyao, the fourth son of the emperor today, legend has it that he is handsome, and good at marching and fighting, he was stationed at the border for eight years, the Huns attacked several times, not only did not gain anything, but also lost the army, and finally had to sign a treaty with the Great Zhou Dynasty, promising not to violate the border again for a hundred years, the emperor was therefore happy, named him the king of Rui, and took the meaning of his bravery and wisdom. Chu Xiangwan still remembered how the little maid Qian'er described to her with a look of adoration the god of war in the heart of this girl in the capital.

"Daddy, whether it's the queen or the prince, my daughter will deal with it carefully, don't worry." Chu Xiangwan said in a deep voice.

Chu Huaifeng's analysis made Chu Xiangwan feel even more that the forces in the palace were mixed, and they had to guard against traps step by step.