[Chapter 5, Volume 5]

Section 201, Chapter 201 First Entry into the Palace

The Taiji Hall is the largest palace in the imperial palace, and it is also the place where the three emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty held major ceremonies to welcome envoys from all sides. The civil and military imperial examinations held at the same time were all held in this Taiji hall. Among the martial arts, the eight people who won the final competition will also have a final competition here.

These eight candidates will be tested in four groups by lottery in front of His Majesty the Emperor. The winner advances to the next round, and the loser will be determined by the results of the previous essay exam, which will determine the final five to eight places. The final top three will be awarded by His Majesty the Emperor.

This competition in front of the palace also happened to be during the Gaochang envoy group visiting His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. His Majesty the Emperor specially invited the prince and princess of Gaochang Kingdom in the envoy group to enter the palace to watch. In order to express the friendship of the Great Zhou Dynasty to Gaochangguo, the harem Xiang Concubine and Song Concubine presided over and specially invited some female dependents into the palace to watch and entertain the princess of Gaochangguo.

Of course, Lu Xiang'er doesn't know these things. Early in the morning, Lu Hong was sent out of the door, and Lu Xianger and Chaoxia wanted to go to the Guogong Mansion to visit Lu Erniang. Today is a big day, Lu Erniang must remember Lu Hong, and the two want to accompany Lu Erniang to wait for news from the palace.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xiang'er and Chaoxia had just changed their clothes, and the people sent by the Zhongyong Palace, as well as Huo Qingqing and Wen Yao, arrived at the Lu family one after another. These people are all here for one thing, to enter the palace with Lu Xiang'er and Chaoxia to watch the competition in front of the palace.

"Can I go too?" Lu Xiang'er looked at Huo Qingqing and Wen Yao and suddenly thought, Huo Qingsong said that he had asked her if he wanted to go to the palace to see Lu Hong compete. At that time, Lu Xiang'er didn't care at all, it was a palace, and not everyone could enter it.

Huo Qingqing looked at Lu Xiang'er, smiled, nodded to Wen Yao, and said, "Sister Yao'er, you can come." ”

"Qingqing, you are my future sister-in-law, you can't call me 'Sister Yao'er' anymore." Since the news that Huo Qingqing and Wen Song were going to be married, Wen Yao has been correcting Huo Qingqing's name for her. Seeing Huo Qingqing's face flush and a blank look, Wen Yao smiled and said to Lu Xiang'er: "Xiang'er, what Qingqing said is true, you were personally invited by Concubine Song." ”

Wen Yao said this in his mouth, but in his heart, he was sighing at everything Huo Qingsong had done for Lu Xiang'er. Before meeting Lu Xiang'er, Huo Qingsong had always been a cold person in Wen Yao's impression, and it was difficult for people to get close. I don't know when it started, although Huo Qingsong's words are still so few, and his expression has not changed much, his temperament is slowly changing. This time, in order to let Lu Xiang'er enter the palace, Huo Qingsong specially asked Wen Yao to send two jars of grapes to Concubine Song. Who is Concubine Song, of course she understands what Huo Qingsong means, and she is also willing to help her 'nephew'.

After gossiping for a while, the four of them walked out of the gate of the Lu family and prepared to go to the palace. Seeing the two carriages outside, the four of them all looked at the wide carriage with the logo of the Loyal and Brave Palace. Huo Qingqing shook his head and said, "Sister Chaoxia, let's take the same carriage." The carriage of this palace is so magnificent, we are also stained with the light of the morning glow. ”

"You little girl, no matter what you say, your general's mansion is no worse than the mansion of the loyal and brave king." Chaoxia glanced at Huo Qingqing, smiled and let Lu Xiang'er and the three of them get into the carriage, and she followed. Hearing Chaoxia actually say such a thing, Wen Yao and Huo Qingqing were very surprised, after Chaoxia became Li Qingyu, it was a little different.

Because the Lu family is far away from the palace, when the four of Lu Xianger arrived at the palace, the palace gate was very cold. Wen Yao and Huo Qingqing are both people who often enter the palace, and they are very skilled in taking out the signs, so they led Lu Xianger and Chaoxia into the palace.

After entering the palace, the palace maid who was waiting at the door stepped forward and led the way for the four of them. Because there were pedestrians on the left and right, all talking, Lu Xiang'er, who came to the palace for the first time, couldn't help but roll her eyes and look at everything in front of her. Wen Yao and Huo Qingqing sandwiched Lu Xiang'er and Chaoxia in the middle, and you whispered to me to introduce the Taiji Hall that was about to arrive.

As he crossed another palace gate, a majestic and solemn hall appeared in front of Lu Xiang'er's eyes. From the palace gate to the entrance of the main hall through the wide square, two large red carpets were laid. Three steps away from the sides of the carpet were flags fluttering in the wind, and under each banner stood a solemn guard. In front of the stone staircase at the entrance of the main hall, there is a wide and large platform with more than one person. The platform is also covered with blankets, and flags are planted at the four corners, so it looks like the place where the competition is about to be held.

Looking around this Tai Chi Hall as a whole, it is really a little joyful and looks very energetic. Of course, this is the feeling from Lu Xianger's point of view. Wen Yao and Huo Qingqing, who always enter the palace, don't have much feeling, and looking at Chaoxia's expression, she seems to be just interested in that ring.

Bypassing the 'ring', the four followed the palace maid into the Taiji Hall and walked to the right. There were already many people in the hall at this time, and Lu Xiang'er looked at it and saw that the men and women in the hall were sitting on both sides. Little ladies and ladies like her sit on the right side.

As soon as she walked a few steps, Lu Xiang'er found a few familiar glances. Mrs. Wen and the two Mrs. Li of the Zhongyong Palace, as well as Lu Erniang, all turned their eyes to a few people, with a gentle smile on their faces. Looking at the movement in Lu Erniang's eyes, it is very similar to Lu Xiang'er sitting next to her. But Lu Xiang'er knows her identity, and it is an embarrassing existence for Lu Erniang in the palace. She smiled at Lu Erniang, did not speak, and walked to the back row with Huo Qingqing and sat down in front of the cases.

Because of the special permission of His Majesty the Emperor, today is not as serious as before, except for the ladies in the front row, who are all in order, those familiar little ladies can sit together in the back row. Lu Xiang'er and the four of them sat behind the two cases.

"Sister Yao'er, I see how weird these little ladies are." Lu Xiang'er looked around her, and she couldn't help but ask Wen Yao beside her.

Wen Yao also looked around after hearing this, and then smiled and whispered, "I forgot to say it." After the palace test, His Majesty the Emperor also held a palace banquet, they were not dressed up to be brilliant, how eye-catching. ”

"Oh." Lu Xiang'er nodded. Listening to Wen Yao talk about the people who participated in the palace banquet, there were many young new imperial examinees and famous sons in the Beijing Division, and Lu Xiang'er understood something. At the same time, she also sighed in her heart that these little ladies were bold.

Smelling the bursts of fragrance nearby, Lu Xiang'er was bored, so she looked carefully at the female dependents here. Unexpectedly, Lu Xianger actually saw a lot of acquaintances. Like the little ladies who have met a few times, needless to say. is very familiar with Lu Xiang'er, who is He Ya, the granddaughter of He Taishi in the current dynasty. She was staring ahead with a cold face, as if she didn't want to pay attention to the little lady who was talking around her.

Diametrically opposed to He Ya is Zheng Fangfei's mother and daughter. The two of them chatted unhappily with the people around them. Especially Zheng Fangfei looked left and right, not wanting to pull down any of the little ladies sitting beside her. And when Zheng Fangfei saw Lu Xiang'er, she raised her head and rolled her eyes, which provoked Lu Xiang'er to retract her gaze, but she couldn't help laughing.

However, after Lu Xiang'er laughed, it was Zheng Fangfei who remembered the incident. If it weren't for Zheng Fangfei's quick talk, Lu Xiang'er really didn't know that Princess Jingrou would do that. Thinking of what Huo Qingsong said to herself that day, Lu Xiang'er sighed lightly. Thinking of today's palace banquet, His Majesty the Emperor ordered that there be an extra concubine of Huo Qingsong in the general's mansion. And Huo Qingsong pushed Lu Xiang'er into the palace, probably because he didn't want to hide it from her.

knew that Huo Qingsong had already greeted her, and he would never do anything to be sorry for her. But Lu Xiang'er thought that before she got married, there was such an eye-catching person, and it was really like something in her throat, she couldn't swallow it, she couldn't spit it out, and it was extremely uncomfortable. It was also at this time that Lu Xiang'er realized that she only wanted to occupy Huo Qingsong alone, and she didn't want any women around him to appear.

"Princess Jingrou, you succeeded this time. However......" Lu Xiang'er thought of Princess Jingrou, her face was a little cold, and she didn't have the novel feeling of just entering the palace.

Wen Yao suddenly found that Lu Xiang'er's body was a little tense, and she didn't know why, so she looked around and asked, "Xiang'er, what's wrong with you, your face is so ugly?" ”

"Nothing, just thinking of something unhappy." Lu Xiang'er smiled at Wen Yao, put away her thoughts, and began to look at the other side.

Wen Yao saw that Lu Xiang'er's expression had recovered again, and although she had some doubts in her heart, she didn't want to ask Lu Xiang'er about her thoughts. Looking at her gaze, Wen Yao took the initiative to introduce Lu Xiang'er to some ministers of the DPRK and China opposite. And next to the next few cases, Huo Qingqing was also talking to Chaoxia about the people in the hall.

"His Majesty the Emperor drove to ——, Concubine Xiang Niangniang——, Concubine Song Niangniang drove to ......" Just as the people in the main hall were chatting, a shrill voice sounded outside.

As the Taiji Hall was silent for a moment, Lu Xiang'er was pulled up by Wen Yao and knelt down in place. Soon the group walked into the main hall, and Lu Xiang'er, who hung her head, couldn't see who they were, and only the feet of the group could enter her eyes. From those boots of various colors, Lu Xiang'er could still guess that it was His Majesty the Emperor who was at the forefront.

"Get up. Today is not the last dynasty, so there is no need to be too restrained. The majestic voice fell, and Lu Xiang'er followed the three thanks of everyone and sat in the position just now. And the majestic voice sounded again: "Yu'er, let the prince and princess of Gaochangguo come in." ”

"Father, my son's ministers will send someone to invite." At the head of His Majesty the Emperor, a man with a short beard and a loyal appearance stood up and gave a salute to His Majesty the Emperor, and then let the attendants around him out of the main hall.

His Majesty the Emperor had a smile on the corner of his mouth, but he couldn't see the expression on his face, nodded lightly, and said, "Yu'er, wait a while, you will accompany Ju Shizi, don't slack off your guests......"