The hibiscus tent is warm for a spring night, even if it is cold and snowy outside, it can't hide the beauty of the warm sleep. Yang Li'er is a mother, but after all, she is only in her teens, Han Jian can not only experience the softness of a woman from her, but also understand her attachment to herself.

He didn't fall asleep until late at night, and Han Jian was still a little tired when the rooster crowed five drums, and Yang Li'er couldn't wake up from his sleep in the spring of Begonia, so Han Jian had to get up and dress himself, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Yurong of the beauty, so he quietly acted like a thief, and even the maid who got up early to send the grooming things couldn't help but smile when he saw it.

"What are you laughing at, come and help!" Han Jian said with a straight face.

The maid is familiar with Han Jian's temperament, although the male owner is resolute and decisive outside, but in this boudoir, at most he only says a few heavy words, and even the girl who does something wrong has never been punished. The maid came over with a smile to help Han Jian sort out his clothes, but they were also red with shame.

After getting dressed, Han Jian simply freshened up, and instructed the maid: "The imperial concubine will get up in a while, and she will serve." Let's just say that I have a future, and I have to leave first. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." The maids answered, but Yang Li'er over there was still sleeping soundly.

Han Jian glanced back, came out a little reluctantly, and couldn't help but tighten his cloak as soon as he got outside, the warmth in the room was like spring and the low temperature outside could not be compared, Han Jian yawned and went to the Chunyun Pavilion, and after a simple meal, a little eunuch came to report, saying that Ning Yuan was asking for an audience outside the palace gate again.

"It's really unprofitable. Troublesome. Han Jian complained casually, and while walking outside, he couldn't even care about eating breakfast. At the same time as sending someone to pass the word, he went to the Ye'an Pavilion to wait, and soon Ning Yuan entered the palace, and there were two things presented. One is about Su Tingxia's withdrawal of troops to supply along the way, and the other is about the draft girls played yesterday, each family has submitted the list of celebrities and ladies, compared to the previous Yang Xi selection of the crown princess, the list is much longer, a total of nearly 1,000 show girls for selection.

Han Jian took a long list. After a rough look, the show girls of each family not only list their names and origins, but also have family backgrounds and some simple biographies. Han Jian also felt strange when he saw it, why did he come to choose from so many celebrities from the family, but Ning Yuan seemed to have been prepared for doing things, and he only performed at dusk yesterday, and the detailed roster was submitted the next day.

"Taishi Ning is diligent in his work, and he can perform in such detail in just one day?" Han Jian put down the list and looked at Ning Yuan, who looked cautious.

Ning Yuan saluted and said, "Do your best for Your Majesty." Now that it is about to be the end of the year, His Majesty has entered the palace again, and the popularity of the palace is withering and needs to be replenished. Because of the rush of time, the draft girls in each family only have a roster and no portraits, and the old minister has ordered the painters of the whole city of Luoyang to dispatch, and all the portraits should be painted and sent to the palace today. ”

"Oh?" Han Jian thought to himself that Ning Yuan was in such a hurry. There must be a great interest in it, and this is not just a financial benefit. And when it comes to political rights. The faster Ning Yuan does things, the more tricks Ning Yuan can do from it, the more tricks Ning Yuan can make from it.

"Then there is Master Lao Ning."

Han Jian put down the notebook and said, "If Master Ning is fine, let's leave the palace first." Today I want to ask about the military and political affairs of the north. I'm afraid I won't have time to discuss with Ning Taishi again. ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Ning Yuan hurriedly left the palace.

After Ning Yuan left the palace gate, he was not far from the palace gate, and someone was waiting for him, and when he saw Ning Yuan coming out, the person came from under the wall. Hurriedly asked: "The Taishi is above, Your Majesty's side...... Is it permissible? ”

Ning Yuan's cautious face just now suddenly became very cold and arrogant, and said, "With an old man coming out, can Your Majesty still be able to return?" His Majesty has already confessed to the matter of the draft girl to be completely handed over to the old minister to deal with. ”

The man laughed and said: "That's good, that's good, so that the show girls from all families can enter the palace smoothly, if they can accompany the king's side, it will be of great help to us in the future." ”

Ning Yuan said with a dark face: "It's easy to say, right now it's just Your Majesty handing over the matter to the old man, but it just involves the list of show girls outside the palace, once the show girls are sent to the palace after the primary election, can the old man still intervene?" ”

The man's face immediately became very tight again, and he said, "That...... How good is that? The Taishi is above, but you have to think carefully, otherwise if you really can't choose it, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the lower officials to explain to each family when they go back. ”

Ning Yuan said: "Let them be at ease for the time being, with the old man here, the old man will naturally take care of the primary election, as long as he does a little bit of tricks and feet on the portrait, those who are not suitable and a little obstructive to the eyes, naturally no one will be able to send them to the palace, do you understand?" ”

"Understood. But in the portrait...... Deliberately painted ugly? ”

As he spoke, Ning Yuan and the visitor left in the direction of the upper listening office. At this time, Han Jian, who was in the palace, was looking at the border battle report that was presented last night, and after a while, someone came to pass the ceremony, saying that Ning Yuan met someone after leaving the palace, but because of the distance, he couldn't hear what Ning Yuan said.

Han Jian didn't go into detail, he wanted to take advantage of the end of the year to complete the withdrawal of troops from the north, many Jiangdu soldiers have been abroad for a year or two, although it is impossible to make the soldiers return to their hometowns before the end of the year, but calculate the days, it should be more than a month later, the soldiers will be able to cross the Yellow River to the south.

The day was busy, and when Han Jian came back in the afternoon, Ning Yuan was already waiting outside the Ye'an Pavilion, because he was the first minister, and when there was no palace ban on weekdays, he could wait outside the Ye'an Pavilion first, and there were more than a dozen people who came with him, carrying the boxes, which were all decorated with portraits of the showgirls.

"Master Ning, go inside and talk."

Han Jian came back and entered the Ye'an Pavilion, and before he could warm up, Ning Yuan had already ordered each box to be opened, and the box presented a stack of portraits to Han Jian, and said, "Your Majesty, these are all portraits of the show girls from each family, I don't know who Your Majesty sent to select?" ”

Han Jian took a look, the portrait is not a photo after all, the painting is too abstract, and some of them look quite beautiful, but the realism is very low. Han Jian didn't take a closer look, looked up at Ning Yuan and said, "The selection of show girls was originally a matter of female officials. The Ministry of Rites will report the details of each family's ladies to the inner curtain, and as for the rest, I have my own arrangements. ”

Ning Yuan was suddenly stunned, according to his thoughts, since Han Jian had entrusted the first half of the matter to him before, he should also participate in the selection later. But listening to the meaning of Han Jian's words, the content he was responsible for has been terminated here. Ning Yuan hurriedly said: "The old minister can share the worries for His Majesty. ”

"No need, leave the portrait for the time being, you can go back, if there is anything, I will see you again tomorrow."

After that, Han Jian asked people to send the portrait to the inner garden of the palace, and he still had to meet with several ministers of the six ministries, and he couldn't go back yet.

When Han Jian returned to Yuncheng Hall after handling political affairs, he saw that the female dependents of the family had basically gathered. Originally, it was already the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, and there were two days to go before the Spring Festival, that is, when there was no family banquet, and after moving to the palace, there was also a festive atmosphere. At this time, the ladies of the family are all holding the portrait of the show girl and looking at it, for the woman who is about to enter the palace and may be a female official or even a concubine, whether it is Han Jian's aunts or the women around him, they are very concerned, and in this era, seeing the portrait is basically the same as seeing a real person, plus there is a very detailed description on the portrait. They can basically get a detailed picture of these women from the portraits.

These women were so focused that no one noticed Han Jian entering the hall. Seeing the women in front of him looking at each other attentively, Han Jian felt that it was none of his business, and as soon as he sat down, Yang Li'er was the first to see Han Jian, and hurriedly said, "Why did Your Majesty come back suddenly?" ”

In a word, it was actually a reminder to others, and at this time, the children of the family noticed that Han Jian was back. Put down the portrait in your hand and come over to salute.

Han Jian waved his hand and said, "It's just like it's in the Dongwang Mansion, why do you need all this red tape?" ”

Yang Li'er said with a smile: "It's different, now the prime minister is His Majesty, and the concubine is also a courtier." We must abide by the most basic etiquette, otherwise Your Majesty has accepted so many women into the palace, where can we have a foothold? ”

Han Jian felt a little surprised when she heard this, although it was not that Yang Li'er was deliberately jealous, but she would still feel uncomfortable in her heart when she saw so many women who might become sisters and competitors in the future.

Han Jian said: "This is just the preliminary selection of the show girl, I didn't expect there to be so many, it's only been a day, Ning Taishi is already ready, just waiting for the preliminary selection." ”

Yang Li'er nodded and didn't say anything, Han Xu came over and said, "Isn't it that Your Majesty has already instructed Taishi Ning, otherwise with so many women and portraits, how can it be completed in one day?" Your Majesty still don't deceive yourself. ”

Han Jian was really speechless, this truth is not wrong, it should be that Ning Yuan had been preparing for a long time behind his back, but he only played the matter yesterday, and now it seems that he had premeditated and didn't want to say it in advance.

Han Jian said: "Liuniang is suspicious, but I really don't have this intention, in order to show my attitude, I asked people to send the portrait into the inner curtain, but also to prove that I don't need to hide anything." In this way, there are so many portraits of show girls here, you might as well let the concubines and aunts make the selection, I, who is the emperor, will not participate in the selection, what do you think? ”

Yang Li'er smiled bitterly: "Xianggong, is this really good?" ”

"What's so bad? When the show girl entered the palace, she didn't have to become the emperor's concubine, mainly to supplement the female officials in the palace, and in the future, these women can go out of the palace to marry normally, since it is for you to choose a helper, then why let me do it myself? If you feel that you can't distinguish just by looking at the portrait, you can choose a few more people, and when they enter the palace in the future, you will see the real person, and then inquire about it to find out their ability to behave in the world, and then it is not too late to make the final selection. ”

Gu Xin'er and Yang Li'er and the others had a strange face, but Han Jian's aunts were all very enthusiastic, and now they could choose female officials from the famous ladies of major families to drive them away, as if power in their hands could make anyone a slave and a maid, with a portrait in hand, as well as their family background, it was convenient to choose, and they were all busy getting portraits. But Yang Li'er, Gu Xin'er and others obviously minded a lot in their hearts, but they knew that as a woman on the side of Han Jian, they should not show their jealousy, and now that there are so many portraits in front of them, it is not easy for them to make a choice.

"You choose yours, and I will watch from the sidelines, and I will not speak." Han Jian smiled and drank tea, happy to watch the play.

Lin Xiaoshu didn't care so much, took out a portrait and said: "But it's very strange, to say that each family should choose beautiful when choosing a show girl, but some families prefer to be like they can't get along with the palace, how can they choose ugly?" ”

"Oh? Take it for me to see. Han Jian said.

Lin Xiaoshu first took the portraits at hand, and then sent over the few portraits he had seen before. Wen'er next to her also shouted: "I think they can't choose the good-looking ones at home, they're all ugly." Here are some too. ”

After sending more portraits to Han Jian, Han Jian looked at them carefully, and then through the families of the women behind these portraits, as well as the closeness and estrangement of these families and Ning Yuan, he also understood a rough idea. Where is this no woman in the family who chooses to draft a girl, this time Ning Yuan labors to move the public, and it is the first draft girl after the new emperor took office, the major families who have been in fear have attached great importance to it, even if there is no beautiful lady in the lineage, they will also be selected from the side branch to pre-select, and the major families often enter the selection of three or four people, and even some declining families have also come out to offer show girls, which shows the caution of each family on this matter. In this way, there are still obvious defects on the face, such as scars and small birthmarks, that is, there are ghosts in them. Even if there were, it was a portrait and not a photograph, and when the painter went to his home to paint, would these families not check it and give some money to make accommodation?

"You chose yours, as for those who have problems, they all come to me, aren't you afraid that I will choose a beautiful woman to enter the palace and snub you? When the real person enters the palace, you can see whether it is beautiful or ugly. ”

After Han Jian finished speaking, he put down the portraits, and the family had to have a family banquet when they got together, so it would be saved to have these portraits. Just the women of the family getting together to choose show girls are already lively enough, and when dinner comes up, these women have no intention of eating, but after Han Jian sits down to eat, he watches from the side, which is equivalent to what kind of show girl the family chooses in the palace for the staff, and what kind of concubine Han Jian chooses in the future.

"If Your Majesty is tired, you might as well go and rest first." Yang Li'er saw that Han Jian was a little listless beside her, and came up and said, "It's good to go over and see my sister." ”

"Oh."

Han Jian thought of Yang Rui's attitude towards him, and said with a wry smile, "Forget it, I will go over to accompany her tomorrow, forget it today, the family is here, but I will leave first, what will it be." ”

Yang Li'er pursed her lips and smiled, but she took two or three portraits over and said, "How about the concubine and the concubine?" It looks good, and it's not a famous family, this painting should be very real, and when the time comes, stay in the palace and serve, how about warming the quilt for the prime minister in the future? ”

Han Jian said with a smile: "It's okay to have you warm the quilt alone, and you want someone else, do you really like one when I am a father-in-law, and I don't even want your bad wife?" ”

Yang Li'er pursed her lips and smiled again, and glanced at Han Jian lightly, but she was also infinitely soft. (To be continued......)