The arrival of the army in Beijing was in late February. Li Xianhui, the lord of the Xian Kingdom, remembered that Zhu Gaoxu had told her that it was the most beautiful season in Beijing.

The ferry sailed across the vast river, and Li Xianhui stood next to the railing on the ship's tower, looking at the long city wall, the houses, the stupas, and the looming buildings on the east bank of the river, and the huge city was on the opposite bank. The most prosperous capital in the world is getting closer and closer.

She completely forgot the bumps and fatigue along the way, and her heart was filled with inexplicable excitement.

The cool breeze on the river has a faint fishy smell, and there are boats as big as palaces floating in the harbor in the distance, and there is a faint sound of "ding" copper bells. The dock on the other side was full of people, and in addition to the crowd waiting there to greet them, there were also many porters, merchants, and pedestrians carrying things. The whole riverside is very lively and full of energy.

The desolate scene that Li Xianhui saw before was just the frontier of the Ming Dynasty. It wasn't until here, when she walked with the army for a few months, that she really saw another face of the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with the capital of the Xian Kingdom, Hancheng Mansion, the most surprising thing about the virtuous lord of the Ming Dynasty was not its grand building, but the bustling and busy crowd. Most of the people living in Seoul were aristocratic officials and their domestic slaves, and there were not so many common people who would move around the ports and streets outside the city.

Since she was a child, Li Xianhui's mother told her that when she grew up, she would get married and go to live in a strange family. Now that she is about to live in the Ming Dynasty Jingshi, she undoubtedly feels new and surprised.

After a long time, the ferries docked one after another, and some of the Ming soldiers on board were already ashore.

The Emperor's ship rested on a pier, and the men below set up a wide ladder on the side of the ship. The sergeants holding flags, fan covers and other honor guards got off the boat first, and then Zhu Gaoxu, who was wearing a red regimental dragon uniform, also walked down the ladder, followed by Li Xianhui. She followed the etiquette of the court, raised her hands, covered her face with her big sleeves, and did not easily show her face in public.

The shore was full of people, surrounded by a number of brightly clad guards. Several luxurious carriages were parked on the main road, surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids, guards holding yellow umbrellas and flags, and a large group of officials standing on the road near the carriages.

Before Zhu Gaoxu reached the shore, those officials knelt on the ground in a large area and shouted together: "The ministers welcome the saint, and congratulate the saint on breaking through the Hulu and returning to the dynasty victoriously!" ”

At this time, female officials and eunuchs stepped forward, bent down and invited Li Xianhui and Duan Xue to the carriage behind. Then a palace maid helped Li Xianhui into a carriage.

Li Xianhui sat in the carriage and immediately looked out through the gap in the curtain of the silk and saw that Zhu Gaoxu had not gotten into the carriage and had just walked in front of the ministers.

Zhu Gaoxu first walked in front of a burly old man in a red robe and a beam crown on his head, stretched out his hand to help the old man up, stared at the face of the round-faced old man, and asked, "Qi Guogong, during my Northern Expedition, everything is okay with Jingshi?" ”

The old man said: "Holy Lord, the officials of the various government offices perform their duties, as usual. ”

Zhu Gaoxu showed a relieved expression on his face: "At the beginning, everyone in the world was confused by the party of the abolished prince, and only Qi Guogong and others in the court were interested in me. With you staying in Beijing, I am very relieved. ”

The old man, known as Qi Guogong, said movingly: "The saint trusts, and the ministers will be loyal and will never give up!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu helped up two more red-robed officials. One of the officials clasped his fists and said: "The ministers and other colleagues of the three law divisions have investigated in detail in the central capital, and the truth has been clarified. As soon as the party was rebellious, they were all arrested and taken to prison, just waiting for the approval of the Holy Emperor. ”

"Everyone, Aiqing, just be even." Zhu Gaoxu waved the sleeves of his robe, looked back and said, "Tomorrow at noon, the clan relatives above the fifth grade in Beijing, the civil and military will come to Fengtian Palace, and I will set up a banquet to celebrate the meritorious soldiers!" ”

A group of people bowed and said, "Thank you, God!" ”

Li Xianhui quietly observed on the carriage for a while, and felt that those ministers seemed to support the emperor, and his heart was a little more stable.

In the past, when she was in the Xian Kingdom, she heard about the Ming Dynasty, which was not good news. Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty, a person like Li Fangyuan, the king of Chaoxian, raised troops to seize the throne; Emperor Taizong's second son, the current emperor, once again raised an army to seize the throne of his eldest brother. The battle for the throne of the Ming Dynasty was simply chaotic.

Now it has been a few months since Li Xianhui came to the Ming Dynasty. According to her understanding, the current emperor Zhu Gaoxu seems to have begun to consolidate his throne; He left such a prosperous and beautiful capital and went thousands of miles away to conquer Mongolia and the ancient times, probably in order to publicize his merits and prestige to the people of the world, so as to be recognized by the world......

Zhu Gaoxu also promised Li Xianhui, and after returning to Beijing, he canonized her as Concubine Zhuang. That's a very prestigious position. Even if she is not the master of the most powerful and wealthy country in the world, she must be regarded as one of the nobles of the court and the masters of the Ming Dynasty! In the future, even if he is the king of Chaoxian, if he can see Li Xianhui, he will have to be a minister.

She doesn't know much about the Ming Dynasty court now, but she is ready to run a new world in the second half of her life.

Lee Hyun-hye is grateful to her father, Lee Fanggan, in her heart. The opportunity her father gave her was obviously very satisfying to her.

At this moment, the people on the main road outside got up from the ground; For Lee Hyun-hye, they are all strangers. However, she suddenly saw a familiar figure in the crowd, Kang Shunchen, the envoy of the Xian Kingdom, and Pu Jingwu, the military commander of the guard!

Park Kyung-moo was looking over here, his expression was very eager, as if he wanted to take advantage of today's opportunity to see Lee Hyun-hye again. Lee Hyun-hye's mood also became complicated, and she reached out and slowly pulled the curtain of the car, so that the curtain completely covered the window.

The carriage finally began to move, and the mighty procession left the riverside and headed for a tall castle tower to the east. There were honor guards, officials, slaves and maids in the ranks, as well as a large number of guards and soldiers, and I don't know how many people and horses, and they couldn't see their heads in front and back.

On both sides of the road stood officers and soldiers. The people and passers-by were not allowed to come close, but only watched and made noise around them.

The army that opened the way in front of them sang a ballad at some point. Li Xianhui can hear the lyrics clearly: "The fragrance of plums fills the post road, and the wild geese soar into the line." Chun Han leaned in the pavilion and looked at the direction of the expedition. Recalling the first time I saw him in the rain, Hongyan sent Jiao|Niang Nianxiang......"

She composed that song by herself! For a while, this unfamiliar capital made her feel a little familiar and friendly in the singing.

After the carriages and horses entered the city, the gongs and drums outside became more and more lively. The crowd walked along the avenue for a long time in the city, and then entered several gates. Li Xianhui naturally didn't know the way, but she roughly saw the carved plaques such as "Bei'an Gate" and "Xuanwu Gate" on the carriage, and guessed that the carriage had entered the palace.

After a while, the carriage stopped. A female official opened the door at the back, bent down and said, "Virtuous lord, the queen has come to welcome the saint." You have to get out of the car and go to the Queen's Grace. ”

Lee Hyun-hye obediently bent over from his seat and got out of the carriage with the support of the female official and the two palace maids.

Zhu Gaoxu, who was driving in front of Luan, had already gotten out of the car, and he was holding a young lady with a high belly. Li Xianhui vaguely heard Zhu Gaoxu's voice: "The imperial concubine should not pay attention to those red tapes, and quickly dispense with courtesy." ”

"Lord Weng, please." The female officer next to her bowed.

Li Xianhui became nervous in her heart, after all, she didn't know anyone, so she could only force herself forward. She soon found out that she saw someone she knew here again: Park Kyung-moo's sister!

Zhu Gaoxu also turned around, beckoned to Li Xianhui, turned back to the noblewomen around him and said, "This is the Xian State Clan, the virtuous lord. When I marched to Beiping last year, I happened to meet the envoys of the Korean state, so I took the virtuous lord with me. ”

The female official took the opportunity to support Li Xianhui and whispered in her ear: "The one holding the prince is the queen's mother." ”

Li Xianhui heard it clearly, stepped forward and immediately knelt down on the brick floor, and bowed to the queen: "Concubine Dynasty|Xianguo Xianguo Xianhui Weng, knock to see the queen and all the mothers." ”

The queen was a very white and delicate young woman, with a graceful figure and a little thin, and the complicated phoenix crown dress was slightly heavy on her. The queen stepped forward to help Li Xianhui, and her voice said: "I heard that the court's Xian monarchs and ministers learned the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, and when I saw it today, the Li clan is really familiar with etiquette, which is very good." ”

Li Xianhui said in a Chinese dialect that was not very accurate: "Concubine Xie Empress has good words. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The virtuous concubine is a fresh person, so you will take care of the virtuous lord first and settle down in the East Sixth Palace." Let's go back to the palace first. ”

Li Xianhui and several women curtsied their knees and said, "Obey." ”

Zhu Gaoxu touched the head of the child wearing a dragon robe next to him and asked, "I haven't been in the palace for the past few months, have you studied hard?" ”

The child tilted his head and said, "The son should be like his father, riding a horse to fight!" ”

The queen scolded: "If the world is too peaceful, why fight again? Zhan Yan wants to listen to his father's words, and read and write! ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't seem to care, and laughed twice.

At this time, Li Xianhui saw the appearance of the concubines clearly, and she was surprised again.

Several concubines are more beautiful than the other, and two are the most eye-catching. Li Xianhui is also a famous beauty in the Xian Kingdom, but as soon as she entered the palace of the Ming Dynasty, she saw two women who were much more beautiful than her. One of them is tall and has a pair of charming almond eyes, and the other is not very old, but his skin is plump and snow-white, and his demeanor is delicate, even women are a little moved when they see it.

The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty was lustful, and his reputation spread to the Xian country. After Li Xianhui met Zhu Gaoxu in the political envoy of Beiping, he thought it was a fallacy, but when he met his concubines today, he felt that there was some truth in the rumors. After all, if the emperor values virtue and etiquette, a virtuous woman may not be beautiful; Only when the emperor values the appearance of women, the concubines around him will all be beauties.

In this palace, maybe it is not as simple and harmonious as Li Xianhui thought at first?