I heard the old man in the palace say that there is a hundred thorn tribe in the southwest of Dachen, because its people live on the shore of the white lake all the year round, surrounded by thorny swamps, it is difficult for ordinary people of foreign races to reach, so there are few interracial marriages, this group has long retained the customs of outsiders who are unbelievable and belong to the characteristics of a hundred thorns.

In order to continue the bloodline of the clan, the Baijiao people inherit a custom that is difficult for the Central Plains people to speak: a woman has many husbands, so that the woman can give birth to enough bloodline for the clan in the prime of life.

Under this tradition, the women of the Baizhu tribe are regarded as superior people by the tribe since birth, and live in the lakeside row houses specially built by the tribe for the women in their prime, and are supported by the whole tribe.

The women of the hundred thorns only give birth and reproduce, and the daily labor, food, clothing, housing and transportation in the clan are all borne by the men.

Legend has it that the woman of the hundred thorns is more beautiful, and is nicknamed "the beauty of the snow face and the sideburns" by outsiders, because the woman of the hundred thorns often lives in the dense forest by the lake, rarely sees the light of the day, the complexion is very fair, and the unique black green hair color of the hundred thorns is born, so it has this glamorous name.

After the age of twelve, the women of the clan can perform the "Moon Curtain" ceremony, that is, the gift of the husband and wife of the exclusive Hundred Thorn Clan.

On the night when the woman reached the age of twelve, the elders of the clan divined the heavens, and appointed the bravest and strongest young man of the clan to drive a light boat to the woman's window, hang a beaded curtain woven by himself as a dowry for her, and perform the wedding ceremony with the woman.

After the night ritual is completed, the curtain is raised every night as a signal to welcome all the young people in the clan until the woman becomes pregnant and gives birth, which is called "lifting the curtain".

Of course, the reason why the Hundred Thorn Clan was despised by Dachen and called a barbarian was not only because of such beautiful and fragrant customs, but also because of their cruel and barbaric side.

Once a woman reaches the age of 40 and loses the ability to have children, she will be "removed" and forced to perform a facial tattoo.

This is the most cruel and incomprehensible to the Central Plains people, the people of the hundred thorns pierced the women's faces with thorns, to the effect that they were punished for losing their fertility and losing the value of life to contribute to the clan, so they need to be deprived of their face and dignity, and become useless people abandoned by the whole clan.

After being stabbed, all the women were driven to live in the black swamp and spend the rest of their lives like ants, snakes and insects among the thorns.

Until the first general of the Dachen Mingzong era, General Zhang Huai, quelled the Tuxilu rebellion, on the way back to the court, when the soldiers were drinking horses and resting on the banks of the Baixi River in the lower reaches of the Baihu Lake, some soldiers suddenly vomited and seemed to be poisoned.

Knowing that the source of the Baixi River is in the residence of the Baithorn tribe, and outsiders know that the Baithorn people are good at using drugs, the old general Zhang Huai sent hundreds of dead soldiers to Baihu in a fit of rage, and exterminated the Baixi tribe, and all the beautiful children in the tribe were captured and taken to Kyoto to be enslaved in the palace.

Concubine Xi is so beautiful and favored, even the concubine who has always been pampered and domineering can be compared, why was she so disgusted by Mingzong in the end? Cui Xi scratched his head, he had been immersed in the palace all the year round, and he had seen countless beauties with fat and thin eyes, and he was still stunned by the concubine Xi he had seen today.

Concubine Xi turned out to be a thorny person, Cui Xi was excited about her new discovery, this is a private matter of Concubine Xi, presumably she doesn't want an insider to announce it, and this old man is an insider - in this deep palace, carrying the secrets and handles of the superior will be an important bargaining chip to climb up.

Under the invasion of the cold air of the autumn night, the sound of the autumn insects in the corner of the wall gradually became hoarse and weak, and finally all the sounds returned to the endless silence of the endless dark night.

Cui Xi smiled hideously into the dark air, "Old thing, let you not lift me!" ”

The dead grass and the human body rotted in the shallow water at the same time, and the mosquitoes and flies were screamed and dispersed by the movement of their feet, and the stench of corpses accompanied by the spread of mosquitoes and flies rushed into the eyes and nose, followed by vomit rising up the stomach.

She had to use all her strength to move forward quickly, stepping on the roots of the thorns with huge spikes to avoid falling into the black swamp, and the stinging pain in the soles of her feet became stronger and stronger, and she finally fell into the thorn bushes.

The woman's body gradually flipped over in the shallow water to reveal her face, and the wounds cut by the long thorns turned out the flesh and blood, and sludge and maggots crawled slowly towards the wounds......

Ahh

A sharp scream sounded in the dormitory of Funing Palace, and Li Gongling, who was napping at the door, pushed the door and rushed in, rushing towards Concubine Xi's bed.

The tulle bed curtain was only green and lake blue, and the lights in the dormitory were bright but still couldn't reflect half of the blood on the concubine's face, and when she saw Li Gongling coming in, she pounced in front of her, "You are here to guard me, don't leave for a while, sister, my good sister!" ”

Li Gongling sat on the edge of the couch, caressing Concubine Xi's back, and the brocade snow silk bedding in the palm of his hand was a little wet, which should be a cold sweat from a nightmare.

Concubine Xi's breath gradually calmed down under her touch, and the words that came out of her mouth were slightly coquettish, "As long as you are an old man in my palace, the rest of the palace maids must all be beautiful young and beautiful, and I can't see ugly old women." ”

Whoever looks at the behavior of the master and servant is very excessive, but Li Gongling responds like a cloud of peers, and it is obvious that the relationship between the two has long surpassed the relationship between the master and servant.

"Don't worry, I've got it all arranged. The few people who entered the palace today have already arranged other work and are not on duty in Funing Palace. In the palace, all the windows and tents are made of blue and emerald things, and there are also people on duty at night to hold the lamp. I don't know what you're thinking, but it's what you want. ”

After nearly forty years of getting along, Li Gongling knew everything about the master in front of her, knowing that she had the same nightmare again, and the bloodline of the Hundred Thorn Clan in her bones would always remind her of the fear of the Black Swamp in her midnight dream, which was the fate of every Hundred Thorn woman full of rancid stench and death.

Even though Dachen had been immersed in Dachen for most of her life, she still couldn't free herself from her fear of the Black Swamp. Her fear of the dark, her fear of growing old, and her dislike of all old people can give rise to her fear of the Black Swamp.

As soon as she thought of this, Li Gongling deliberately chattered about some trivial matters, so that her mood calmed down as soon as possible, "Wan Guard is a Lingxiu, really made a good incense, sent to the palace the day before yesterday, but depending on your wishes, everything has an interesting name for the occasion, what is it called Lin Hua Rain, Lanxi Guiyi, and use it in the harem the same way-Oh, the name of the incense in the hall tonight is called Pujia, you sniff this smell——"

Concubine Xi raised the tip of her nose and sniffed carefully, and sure enough, the smell of citron and green leaves with a slight sense of coolness welled up on the tip of her nose, sometimes mixed with the light sweetness of water lotus, like the remaining sweet smell of the Huanhua girl by the stream, and when she smelled the fragrance of peach blossoms and acacia, she smiled knowingly.

Concubine Xi raised her head, her eyebrows narrowed, and she held Li Gongling's hand tightly with both hands, "Early tomorrow morning, pick a few suitable of these spices and give them to the emperor, and say that I made them." ”

"The boy looked like his father, but was blessed more than his father. Now that I have been freed from my bondage, I will not go back until I die. I will rely on him and I will accomplish him. ”

Concubine Xi sat up straight, her soft white fingers clasped tightly on her knees, and after making this decision, she looked at Li Gongling, trying to find affirmation in her eyes.

Li Gongling nodded heavily, against the backdrop of Concubine Xi's delicate and beautiful face, she was a plain to mediocre old woman, with ravines and lines on her face.

She gently picked up the brocade quilt piled on the couch, wrapped her sitting body around Concubine Xi, and pressed her hand on her slender shoulder, "Then you have to do two things, face Zhang Ping and the king of Yanling County as enemies, cultivate your eyes and mouth in the court, and watch and speak for you." ”