The banquet of Xingqing Palace ended hastily like this. By the time everyone came to their senses, the tide was gone.

Empress Taishang's birthday banquet was a conspiracy from beginning to end. Li Chun put sweat medicine in some of the wine and food, and specially invited those old ministers who might speak out in this incident to Xingqing Palace, and together with the personal guards of the Emperor Taishang, they witnessed the Emperor Taishang's "ascending to the immortal" without resistance.

And their majesty, as if nothing had happened, continued to make the morning as usual the next day, and did not mention what had happened in the Xingqing Palace.

Those old foxes who have been immersed in the government for decades can see that His Majesty is not mourning at this time, and they will not be able to refute it with a defensible excuse. Can't Your Majesty say that the Emperor is fine, they have to work against Your Majesty clearly, and they have to insist that the Emperor is dead, right?

And after a period of time, when His Majesty found the opportunity to mourn, they had already lost the opportunity. Since they didn't say anything as early as the day of the death of the Emperor Taishang, they couldn't say anything after the afterthought.

Your Majesty is more cunning than they are, and has counted all these old foxes into it.

At this point, the Taishang Emperor's anger has been exhausted, and most of them are loyal to the Taishang Emperor alone, but the Li dynasty, since the descendants of the Li family are still sitting on the dragon chair at this time, and they are the heirs personally selected by the Taishang Emperor, then there is nothing to say.

And those old ministers who were loyal to the Emperor couldn't accept this fact in their hearts, but they had no power to return to the sky, so they had to take advantage of the fact that His Majesty didn't plan to kill them all, and quickly found a way out for themselves, and fought for their whole body to retreat.

During that period of time, slowly some old ministers began to say that they were sick and did not go to court, or asked to return to their hometowns, Li Chun politely kept a few words, and then approved, and strongly affirmed their contributions to the Tang Dynasty over the decades, and gave rich rewards.

Most of the 200 guards around the Emperor Taishang didn't see anything because they were asleep, and continued to stay in Xingqing Palace to guard. His Majesty still needs these people to put on a guard posture in the Xingqing Palace to show that the Emperor is safe.

And they, even if they have some doubts in their hearts, naturally do not dare to say it. It would be a great sin to let people know that they had been calculated one night and watched their master have an accident - as a guard, and failed to do their duty!

Among them, there are also a few people who are shallow in poison but can't control their mouths, although they can't move, but they have seen the whole process of the incident with their own eyes, and plan to use this matter as a palace secret to witness, as a bragging capital - Liu Zhenliang and Qixi Mingcha secretly visited for a period of time, and those people never appeared again.

After the birthday banquet, the concubine not only personally sent the Shence Army to escort the guests home that day, but also specially ordered people to send several cars of rewards to the concubines, which became the most exciting highlight of this inexplicable farce in the eyes of the concubines.

It's just that when the flower pots in Xingqing Palace were removed, the barely decorated palace was mottled by wind and rain again, and no matter how good the reward was, it couldn't save the decaying and withering Xingqing Palace.

The weather gradually cooled, and news came from Xingqing Palace, it is said that the old illness of the Emperor Taishang recurred, and he needed to recuperate with peace of mind, and everyone should not disturb each other.

It seems that not many courtiers are surprised, after all, the Taishang Emperor's dragon body is well known, and even when he ascended the throne last year, he did not show up a few times.

Soon after, Concubine Wei, who had been "lying sick" and fasting and reciting Buddha, said that she missed the first emperor and asked herself to leave Beijing to guard the tomb for Emperor Dezong.

The saint lavishly commended Concubine Wei for her deep affection for the first emperor, and specially sent ten elderly and stable slaves from the palace to serve her in Chongling, and assigned another twenty guards for her to protect her safety.

Of course, this is Nianyun's handiwork. She knows very well that Concubine Wei Xian has always had a good reputation among the people, and there are many old people in the Daming Palace who are grateful for her kindness, and the respect between her and the first emperor for decades is also a kind of spiritual sustenance for those old palace people.

If the first emperor died of illness in less than half a year, it would always be a little unreasonable, and those shrewd old palace people would probably have resentment, which was not a good thing for her, the new concubine in charge of the Daming Palace.

In this case, it is necessary to completely fulfill her good name. Anyway, with the ten slaves and maids who were specially instructed by her to "take care", Concubine Wei's later life is probably very "happy".

There are also twenty guards who specially guard her, so that even if Concubine Wei has a mouth all over her body, it will be difficult to find a chance to tell the truth of half a word.

At the end of October, the palace held a winter banquet, the ministers congratulated, His Majesty invited the ministers in the Hanyuan Palace, and gave mutton soup cakes, Guo Guifei also attended in full costume, and sat on the main seat of the Hanyuan Hall with Li Chun to accept the congratulations of the ministers.

At this time, the head of the Ministry of Rites once again played: "Your Majesty has been on the throne for several months, but the harem is still empty......"

As he spoke, he glanced at the concubine sitting next to him from time to time.

Nian Yun couldn't help but curse the old fox in his heart.

In front of the civil and military officials, even if His Majesty does not let go, if the noble concubine does not speak out to persuade His Majesty to accept the concubine, then the crime of being jealous of the sole favor can be regarded as being implemented.

Even if he didn't say it, Nian Yun was ready to mention this matter in front of hundreds of civil and military officials at this time.

Emperor Wen of Sui, who has always favored Queen Dugu alone, has to sigh "Dugu misunderstands me" after Queen Dugu dies, Nian Yun doesn't think she can be an exception.

Since it can't be avoided, let's make good use of it, and simply use this matter to show her virtuous generosity.

Nian Yun got up slowly, looked around, and took in all the beings in the hall, before leaving his seat, walked in front of Li Chun, and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, the concubine has been favored by His Majesty since the ninth year of Zhenyuan, and I am very honored. His Majesty has worked official duties for more than ten years, and has never lingered in the boudoir. If it is decided today, His Majesty's heirs are not abundant, and the concubines are difficult day and night. The concubine is getting older, I am afraid that I can no longer add Ding to His Majesty, and I also ask Your Majesty to think about the people of the world, take pity on the concubine with sincerity, reopen the draft system, and share the worries of the concubine! ”

The earnestness of the words made all the ministers in the hall moved, and secretly sighed that this Guo Guifei really deserved to be the concubine of the princess's mansion, and she was a knowledgeable person, so several ministers left their seats, knelt on the ground, and spoke in unison: "I hope Your Majesty will approve it!" ”

Li Chun glanced at the minister who was kneeling and begging for her life, looked at her with a smile, and personally helped her up very cooperatively, and said, "Since the concubine said so, this matter will be decided by the Ministry of Rites and the concubine." I don't want to waste money for this matter, so I don't need to ask the local government to recruit people, just draw up a list among those who are above the sixth grade, and then select the palace. ”

The head of the Ministry of Rites bowed his head and replied "yes", Nian Yun had already stood up with a smile, and said: "I won't tell you that since His Majesty ascended the throne, the palace has been worried about this matter, the list of the household department has already been checked, and a few have been selected, and I hope that the Ministry of Rites will visit the palace for it, if it is still suitable, the palace can prepare to be hired." ”

If Guo Guifei's words before sounded just like that, and it was impossible to tell whether it was true or false, then these words really moved those old ministers. If it weren't for the true generosity, how could it have been prepared for a long time?

I don't know who led the way, and suddenly many old ministers left the table and chanted in unison: "Long live my emperor, long live long live, long live the noble concubine Niangniang thousand years old and thousands of years old!" ”

Nian Yun smiled slightly, and Qixi behind him took out a booklet and held it with both hands to the head of the Ministry of Rites.

The principal opened it and took a look, only to see that there was a ** page on it, and a name was written on each page, and the place of origin, origin, age, and position of father and brother were indicated in a red pen on it, which was very detailed.

The head of the Ministry of Rites looked at the saint, Li Chun only smiled and bowed, and he hurriedly accepted the booklet: "The minister respectfully obeys the decree." ”

Nianyun followed Li Chun back to the main seat and sat down: "In this way, there is a lot of work." ”

Although the roster has been determined, it is still necessary for the Ministry of Rites and the palace to send people to see each other and inspect each other, etc., to make sure that there are no bad diseases that are not suitable for marriage, there is no bad reputation, and there is no family that is allowed to be matched, so that they can enter the Yeting Palace to learn etiquette.

The head of the Ministry of Rites hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's intention, I don't know what grade the new concubines are in the palace?" ”

Li Chun looked at Nian Yun and said, "The rank doesn't have to be high, just wait for the birth of an heir and then add the seal." ”

Nianyun said: "The Ji family has the eldest son of the emperor, and he has been with His Majesty for many years, so he has been registered as a five-grade talent. The newcomers have more opportunities for promotion in the future, so let's follow the six and seven grades first. ”

Except for the changes in the Xuanzong Dynasty, the concubine grades of the Tang Dynasty have always followed the old system of the Sui Dynasty. Since Gaozu, the queen has set up a concubine of the first grade, one concubine from the first grade, a concubine of virtue, and a concubine of virtue, also known as the third lady.

There are two products under it, Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chongrong, and Chongyuan, which are nine concubines.

Further down, there are nine people who are in the third grade, nine people who are in the fourth grade, and nine people who are in the fifth grade, which are called the twenty-seventh woman. There are also 27 people in the 6th grade Baolin, 27 people in the 7th grade of the royal girl, and 27 people in the 8th grade, that is, 81 royal wives.

The three ladies of the Son of Heaven's harem, the nine concubines, the twenty-seventh wives, and the eighty-one royal wives add up, and there should be more than 100 concubines in the harem in name. However, the men of the Li family are not too mediocre, and most of the time these positions are vacant.

By Emperor Dezong's side, since the death of Empress Zhaode, there is only one concubine Wei Xian with a higher rank, and there are Wang Meiren, Wei Meiren, etc., and there are less than ten concubines with grade titles. Emperor Li Yu is quite a favorite of the inside, with more than 20 concubines, speaking of which, he is still not even satisfied with one-sixth.

Therefore, Nian Yun chose the ** position at one time this time, even if not everyone can enter the palace in the end, this number is enough to make those old ministers have nothing to say.