The concubines of the harem enter the palace through the two ways of draft and selection, and there is a more special one, that is, the women selected by the destroyed country as tribute, or the women offered by the subject country and local officials in order to curry favor, these women who are sacrificed into the harem are undoubtedly the most despicable group in the harem, and they are completely playthings. It's not like the selection and the selection of rites, they are all justifiably entering the palace to serve.

Among them, the selection is mainly from the folk to select beautiful and high-quality women from good families to enter the palace. The selection is generally held once a year, in the autumn, mainly to fill the vacant work left by the palace maids who were released from the palace that year. Therefore, most of them are acting as palace maids, and only a few people with particularly excellent appearance and qualifications can be named concubines, and the last Concubine Yun was selected to enter the palace.

The official draft is held once every three years, also known as the ritual selection, and the target is a woman between the ages of thirteen and seventeen from a famous family or a scholarly family. After these women entered the palace, most of them were made concubines, and some of them were female officials, in charge of ceremonies or serving the queen mother and high-ranking concubines.

As the saying goes, "there is no wealthy family in selection, and there is no family in etiquette". The difference between the folk and the people is clear, and among the concubines and concubines in the palace, they are still from a poor family, which also has a great impact on their future positions.

This is the second official large-scale election after Qi Long ascended the throne, so the palace attaches great importance to it, as early as before the New Year, began to draw up plans and prepare a roster.

The Shangyi Bureau needs to prepare the etiquette for the show girl to enter the palace, the etiquette for visiting the emperor and the queen mother, and the ceremony for meeting the lords of each palace. Once the show girl is selected, she will stay in the palace and be taught the etiquette rules for a month, and the Shangyi Bureau will need to send the teacher to guide the teaching, and if any of these show girls violates the ancestral teachings of the palace system in the future, the person who undertook the teaching will also be convicted.

The last draft was in the first year of Longhui, Qi Long had just succeeded to the throne, just when the first emperor died and the country was in mourning, so even the dress of the show girl was simplified a lot, this year is the most orthodox draft after Qi Long succeeded to the throne, and the clothes naturally have to be considered grand and gorgeous, and they must conform to the rules of etiquette. Busy with a lot of clothes in the Shangfu Bureau, and decorated female officials.

In addition, the place where the show girls live also needs to be cleaned and prepared to welcome the new nobles. Meals also need to be carefully examined and what kind of food should be prepared.

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The whole palace was lively, especially the queen and Ni Guifei, who were in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, and the two of them were even more crowded there, so they were busy.

If there is still a place in the harem of the entire Great Qi that is as quiet and peaceful as ever, then there is only the Cining Palace where the Queen Mother and the concubines live.

At this time, in the Cining Palace,

"That's the truth, now my mother has also made it clear, Ning Qiu, what do you think?" Mrs. Dingguo asked nervously.

The queen sat down, bowed her head, and said nothing.

Mrs. Dingguo felt embarrassed for a while, and she turned her head to look at the Queen Mother who was sitting at the top.

Receiving the same gaze as Mrs. Dingguo asking for help, the Queen Mother couldn't help but sigh, turned to the queen, and said gloomily: "Ning Qiu, I know that you are unwilling in your heart, but now that the situation is compelling, our Wang family looks glamorous, in fact, alas, it would be good if your stomach could fight for breath, but ......"

Hearing the Queen Mother's words, the queen's body trembled slightly, and she was silent for a moment, then finally raised her head and said, "Since it is the intention of the queen mother and the family, Ning Qiu naturally will not object." ”

Hearing her say this, Mrs. Dingguo immediately breathed a sigh of relief. patted his chest again and again and said: "Ning Qiu, don't blame us for being ruthless as a father and mother, anyway, the emperor's mind is not on you now, rather than giving it to others, it is better to use it for your own people after all." ”

"That Su Concubine, after all, is a Wei girl, and now your father can't help but lose his temper when he hears the word Wei." Mrs. Dingguo still gushed to herself: "The guards are not credible, just think about how cunning and treacherous Gu Qingting is......"

The queen couldn't help but flash a trace of disgust between her expressions, she wanted to say something, but she thought about it again, and in the face of her biological parents, she didn't say it after all.

The Queen Mother didn't have such scruples, she put down the teacup in her hand suddenly, and a crisp sound interrupted Mrs. Dingguo's words, Mrs. Dingguo was bluffed, and almost sat down unsteadily and fell off the chair, before she could react, the Queen Mother's reproach had already been beaten down: "He still has the face to lose his temper?!" If you fall under someone else's hands, you have to know what kind of character it is to accept a lesson, and it will only implicate anger, when did our Wang family teach such a person? You go back and tell him, if you don't know how to change the problem of arrogance, I'm afraid that there will be hardships in the future, last time it was a Gu Qingting, who knows that there will be no second or third Gu Qingting in Nanchen and Beiliao? He himself is not angry. was beaten by a small patriot and threw off his armor, fled in embarrassment, and now he wants his children to come and suffer such consequences. On the contrary, there are still words to be raised. Just talk to him about these things, and if you're not convinced, ask him to reason with me! ”

Hearing that the Queen Mother's tone was unprecedentedly stern and cold, Mrs. Dingguo was so frightened that she trembled, and suddenly there was no sound.

The queen did not hear these words, but lowered her head and looked cold and indifferent, as if she had been reprimanded and was not her mother.

For a moment, there was an eerie silence in the empty hall. Mrs. Dingguo bowed her head and did not dare to speak. After half a ring, the queen broke her silence and asked, "I don't know who arranged to enter the palace this time?" ”

Mrs. Dingguo hurriedly raised her head and said: "It is the youngest daughter of Shi Qian's family, the commander of the inner guards, called Shi Rou'er, who is a stunning beauty, no worse than those Su concubines and Yun concubines." ”

The queen nodded, but said nothing.

"Well," the Queen Mother sighed and said, "Since that's the case, so be it, my body is not as good as a year, no wonder you are so worried, Ning Qiu can't give birth to a child is not a way." The way out of our Wang family in the future also needs to be considered. ”

Mrs. Dingguo looked at the faces of the two, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There is another ......"

"What? And one more? Could it be that the beauties of our Daqi are so endless now? The Queen Mother asked with a bit of sarcasm.

The Queen Mother laughed. Mrs. Dingguo smiled: "It's the child who is frosting." The age has just arrived, and the clan said that they just participated in this draft, and their appearance and talents are all first-class. ”

The queen's face is a little bad, Wang Ningshuang is her cousin, and she is also the direct daughter of the Wang family, the daughter of Wang Hao's younger brother, she is only fifteen years old this year, when the queen did not enter the palace, the two are often together, but the queen is extremely disgusted with this cousin, she is arrogant and willful, of course, most of the girls in her own family are such a character, but this cousin is especially disgusted by her, the Wang family, as the first wealthy family in Daqi, is of course a large number of children and grandchildren. Among the many direct daughters of the Wang family, her appearance is also the most top-notch, so she is extraordinarily arrogant. When I was a child, I didn't pay much attention to her because the queen mother admired and loved the queen, and often complained about this cousin, and later my cousin became the queen, and her words and deeds were slightly restrained.

Seeing that the queen's face was getting worse and worse, Mrs. Dingguo's voice couldn't help but get lower and lower, and she reluctantly said a few homely words, and then took her leave.

The queen mother and the queen didn't keep it, but said: "You want to go back now, I still have a few words for you to take back, you can talk to your master." ”

Mrs. Dingguo respectfully leaned over and obeyed.

The Queen Mother pondered for a moment and said: "He said to you, this time the emperor used him to make things nine out of ten, but the kind of character that can't afford to lose must be changed, when he followed the first emperor in the past, although he fought bravely and claimed to be invincible, although he himself is wise and brave, fighting hard, but partly because of luck, he has never met a real famous general." has always been a safe and secure official and promoted to the knighthood, and to today's status, even the position of the patriarch of our Wang family is attributed to him. Now Nan Chen's Prince Chen Qian, who is Cheng Qian, I heard that he is not inferior to Gu Qingting's famous general, if he is still so self-righteous and arrogant, it would be good to resign directly from this position, and don't give our Wang family a dark place and cause chaos to Daqi! Later, the Queen Mother's voice became stern.

Mrs. Dingguo only responded, but she was secretly complaining in her heart, Wang Hao's temper she knew best, a few years ago, it was okay, but now in the past few years, because of frustration, she has become more and more irritable, and whoever doesn't like to listen to it doesn't like to listen, even he, the lady of the main house, has to serve carefully, and he is often beaten and scolded for other concubines, and only in front of his sister can barely maintain deference, if he dares to say these words to him, he is afraid that a stinking scold is indispensable.

It's just that these words are just thinking about it in my heart, of course I don't dare to complain like this, Mrs. Dingguo said yes to the Queen Mother again and again, and then left.

Looking at the distant figure of Mrs. Dingguo, the Queen Mother turned her head to the queen and said, "Still uncomfortable in my heart?" ”

The queen was slightly shocked, and hurriedly lowered her head and said, "Nothing, the queen mother doesn't have to worry." ”

The Queen Mother looked at her for a moment, and said earnestly: "Ning Qiu, you have to understand that our wealth and honor are all based on the dignity of our Wang family, if there is no Wang family who is noble and noble, we are in this deep palace, even if we are favored, no matter how noble, we are just rootless duckweed, and we may be blown away by the abrupt storm at any time and don't know where to go, so everything must be family first." ”

The queen nodded, and said with a firm expression: "I know what to do, the queen mother can rest assured." How could I be the kind of person who only knows how to fight and be jealous, and doesn't understand the severity? ”

"Well, I've always been relieved of your work," the Queen Mother said with a relieved expression: "Since you were a child, your temperament has been calm and alert. Alas, others only know the wealth and honor of our Wang family's daughter, who has ever thought of what lies under this honor. As she spoke, the Queen Mother's expression also became bitter, she hesitated for a moment, and said, "I know that you feel bad in your heart because you still have a mind for the emperor." ”

The queen was startled, as if her most secret part had been nakedly exposed, and suddenly fell into a panicked situation, and she tried to justify: "I ......"

"Needless to say," the Queen Mother waved her hand and stopped the queen's words: "The emperor is your husband and the lover you rely on all your life. In any way, it makes sense that you have affection for him. ”

"It's just that when you first entered the palace, I told you that in this palace, it is good to have any kind of thoughts, but you must not move your sincerity, since ancient times, men are ruthless, rich men are even more ruthless, and the son of heaven who is rich and sits in the six palaces will only be more ruthless!" The Queen Mother said earnestly: "You sink by yourself, but you are just suffering yourself." ”

The queen's body couldn't help but tremble, she really didn't know how to distinguish and explain, or rather, in the face of such a wise and discerning queen mother, in the face of the elders she had always respected, did she still need to argue? Thinking of Qi Long, her heart was unspeakably bitter.

"Although there are many girls in the Wang family's generation, most of them are mediocre in qualifications, or they are talentless, foolish, more than supple, not enterprising, or talented but not virtuous, empty and beautiful, arrogant and rude, and do not know how to advance or retreat. You are the only one who can be made, and I insisted on letting you enter this palace wall, but it hurt you. The Queen Mother sighed with remorse.

"Queen Mother," the queen couldn't help but shout, "I don't regret entering this deep palace, although there is suffering, but rather than marrying an ordinary man who has worked all his life, I would rather choose to enter the palace, not to mention, now that I am a country, I am noble, where is an ordinary woman can compare." It's the queen mother who is too worried. ”

was interrupted by an abrupt shout, the Queen Mother was not the slightest angry, she smiled bitterly in her heart, "Even if it is a noble life, are you happy?" In the end, the best result is just to sit ......in this seat all year round, just like me, "But what he said was: "I am also relieved that you can think like this, as for the woman who entered the palace this time, it is also the result of our Wang family's consideration of the overall situation, if you have children in the future, these people will stay with you or not, if you still have no children, alas, you still have to adopt one." After a pause, he said: "As for that Su Concubine, if she is well-behaved and obedient, it is good to keep it, after all, there is a credit for saving the emperor." ”

The queen nodded distractedly.

The Queen Mother confessed again: "Originally, the more chess pieces, the better, the harem is the best to bloom with a hundred flowers, and it is taboo to stand alone." ”

The queen nodded softly in response, and the queen mother sighed and said, "There is nothing else, you can go first." ”

The queen got up and took her leave. Her back is still straight and arrogant, but there is a slight shift and trembling in the cold wind, telling the master's helpless mood at the moment, in the early spring, it seems that even the figure is pale, watching her thin and slender back gradually fade away, the queen mother can't help but be gloomy, "The daughter of the Wang family, after all, she will have to pass this threshold." Alas, how could this not be the case back then. ”

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Late at night, in Fengyi Palace.

Yurui handed over the booklet that the Internal Affairs Office had just sent today, "Niangniang, this is the roster of girls to be drafted just compiled by General Manager He of the Internal Affairs Bureau, please take a look at it." ”

The queen was silent for a while, and then raised her hand to take the scroll wrapped in gold leaf, which was obviously a light and fluttering book, but it seemed to have a weight in her hand. The queen's hands couldn't help but tremble, as if they couldn't bear such a weight.

Yurui couldn't help but be a little surprised, she had served the queen for many years, and she had never seen her master have such a gaffe.

The queen opened the scroll, and there were brightly colored names written in red cinnabar, representing the vivid flower girls. On the first page, Shi Rou'er's three big characters came into view, and for the first time, the queen felt that the red dye mixed with gold powder specially made to express dignity was so dazzling, and it seemed to be the color of blood.

Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore, and her hand threw it out so hard that she threw it far away, and with a bang, it hit the ground, but she still didn't stop, and slid quickly on the ground until it hit the pillars of the inner gallery.

"Mother?" Yurui knelt down in fright, and the palace maids and eunuchs who served around her also hurriedly knelt down, hula and knelt down for a room.

The queen stood up, only felt dizzy for a while, she held her forehead, and sat back in her seat, half a sound, no one in the room dared to make a sound, the whole hall seemed to be empty as quiet, after a long time, the queen relieved, and said in a low voice: "The palace is in a bad mood today, you all retreat, you don't have to serve here, there are many people who feel noisy." ”

Hearing the queen's words, the palace people retreated quickly and orderly as if they had been amnestied.

Soon Yurui was the only one left in the hall, and she hesitated to look up at the queen.

"Go and pick up that booklet, Ihongu hasn't finished reading it yet." The queen said with a cold expression, her tone was calm and indifferent, as if the booklet had not just been thrown out by her with great difficulty, but had accidentally fallen down.

If it weren't for the golden booklet still lying there quietly, Jade Rui couldn't help but think that the fright just now was just an illusion. I have served the queen for many years, and I have never seen her such gaffe and anger. Is it because there are new people coming in the palace again? Yurui thought suspiciously, but there had been several drafts and auditions before, and she had never seen the queen so jealous.

Although there were still doubts in her heart, Yurui didn't say anything on her face, she knew that now was not the time to talk too much, so she respectfully picked up the booklet and handed it back to the queen.

Then Yurui approached the long candles carved by the thick arms of the pan phoenix on both sides, and picked the wick of the candle to make the hall even brighter. The queen behind her said, "Why is the weather so cold? Jade, go get some more stoves and warm up the house. ”

Yurui took the order and left.

The queen opened the scroll, and the bright red that shimmered with golden light poured into her eyes again, and suddenly her eyes began to feel dry and unbearable.

What is it that you are struggling in this cold deep palace?

She still remembers that when she first entered the palace, Qi Long took her hand affectionately and smiled at her gently. He was really handsome, just like the beautiful sons in the book, almost in an instant, it made her girl's heart stir. This is the beloved person who has been with me and served all my life.

Entering the palace, although she is expensive in the main palace, but Qi Long has a lot of internal favorites, she is a little disappointed, fortunately, Qi Long is not bad to her, it is a husband's due respect for his wife, although it is not tender and sweet, but it is also a case of eyebrows. After all, he also values himself, maybe he should be like this, for him to be a virtuous woman, worthy of the status and trust of this queen, she made such a determination at that time.

What really shattered her dream was her father, the general Wang Hao's fiasco in front of him several times made Qi Long deeply angry, and even with a good face for her, she still remembers the pain and shame when she went to visit her husband but was driven out of the main hall. and the unconcealed disgust in his eyes when he begged him to spare his father. Everything is fake! The tenderness and value he gave to himself was not to the woman named Wang Ningqiu, but to the family behind him, the Wang family of the first wealthy and noble lord in Daqi, he did not marry her, he married the huge power and relationship of the Wang family.

Shark silk scissors, no acacia.

She didn't understand until then that the so-called beloved was nothing more than a joke, a nightmare that entangled an infatuated woman, and the so-called favor was nothing but a transaction, a transaction built on the cornerstone of power, one side was rich and glorious, and the other side was beautiful and loved.

It is easy to ask for homeless treasures, it is rare to have a lover, men are ruthless, rich men are even more ruthless, and the king who is rich and noble as the son of heaven is even more ruthless.

Finding the truth in this harem is just a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water.

After the heartache, she began to have an epiphany, she finally understood that she was just a symbol, in the eyes of her husband, she represented a huge power, in the eyes of the harem concubines, she represented a solemnity and at the same time an obstacle.

Maybe the only thing he can rely on is his own family, only his relatives, as long as the glory and prestige of the Wang family do not fall, his back position will not be shaken in the slightest, and he will always be his justifiable wife, not the groups of concubines in the harem.

However, now, even the family that he trusts and relies on the most has to give up himself? It's because her stomach is not angry, she can't give birth to the prince they need, and she can't satisfy them...... It turns out that in the eyes of anyone, she is just a symbol, and she can find someone to replace her at any time, she looked at Wang Ningshuang's name in the roster, and smiled happily and bitterly, she didn't understand this truth until today.

There was a slight sound at the door, and it was Yurui who walked in with a purple gold copper furnace.

Hearing the sound, the queen suddenly turned her head sharply and turned her back to the jade.

Yurui, who was stepping in, was stunned, and just now she seemed to see something passing across the smooth and soft cheeks of her long-serving master, like a shining star, crystal clear, and fleeting.

What is that?!

Maybe it's her own delusion, she thought with some uncertainty.