The East Garden is clean and clean, and there are about 30 picking girls who are separated, and the two live in the same room. In the middle of this, the family background of Pillow Spring is also considered to be middle and upper, so most of the girls are polite to her.

Su Cainu, who lives in the same room as Zhuchun, is the concubine of the servant's family. Although she is a concubine, she is very good-born, and her skin is as translucent as cream, and she is also the most beautiful among the more than 30 show girls.

Pillow Chun packed up the package neatly, looked around the room of these two people, and only felt that the palace was spacious, and this place had been carefully renovated, and even the autumn incense tent on the window was newly cut.

"Whose family are you?" The girl sat on the bed and gently loosened her bun with a ruby hairpin.

Pillow Chun listened to her unkind question, so he was not annoyed, and said: "An Pillow Chun, line eleven, my father is still Zuocheng." ”

Su Cainu thought for a while: "My name is Su Mei, and my father is a servant of the Ministry of Officials. My father said that Shangshu Province has a lot of power, although he is also a fourth-grade official, but your father is a little bigger? ”

Pillow Chun thought to himself, how could he say this casually. It can be seen that Su Cainu is open-mouthed and has a straightforward personality, so it is not surprising: "If you want to come to the ministry, it is also an important position, and each has its own important points." She didn't want to say any more, but she wanted the two to live together for a few days, which would be embarrassing, so she picked up a pair of pink spring-style beads from her makeup, "It is fate to live in one place with Su Cainu, and I will give you beads to line your ruby pomegranate." ”

"Oh?" Su Cainu didn't shirk, and directly matched the beaded flowers to the sideburns, which was really good-looking, making people look more delicate, "Since you gave it to me, I accepted it, and when I won the election, I will definitely send the house to give you a gift in return." ”

Pillow Chun didn't answer, listening to what she said was unreasonable, it was a thank you gift, how could she wait until she was selected and then returned? In this way, he took a closer look at Su Cainu, and sure enough, he saw many clues under a closer look.

Su Cainu wore a new jujube-colored embroidered jewel makeup satin skirt, although it was a good material, it seemed to be rushed out. If you are in the Pillow Spring Mansion, the makeup satin is not as elegant as the gauze silk, if you want to cut the skirt, you need to use six more, but Su Cainu's new skirt only has four pieces. Besides, Su Cainu's head, although she looked at the flowers from a distance, only the pomegranate hairpin was inlaid with ruby if she looked closely, and the rest was just silk flower plain noodles. This Su Cainu is the concubine of the Shilang Mansion, and she is not as noble as the concubine, so she should be in a hurry to make a new dress and a new face, and she wants to raise her eyebrows once. He was transparent and didn't say anything, and responded: "Then I wish Su Cai the best of luck." ”

The two couldn't say a few words, and a palace eunuch sent lunch outside. After a few years of use, there were quite qualified palace maids who came to teach the rules.

Zuo just talked about some important matters in the palace, and how to behave decently when meeting the emperor and the queen mother. Su Su said something, and Pillow Spring also understood some stories.

Now the Queen Mother is the adoptive mother of the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven's biological mother and concubine went early. The new emperor treats the Queen Mother very respectfully, and the emblem is honored as the Queen Mother of Zhuang Yi. When His Majesty was in the Prince's East Palace, the backyard was deserted, there was a crown princess, a side concubine, and Liangdi, that's all. After ascending the throne, the princess entered the East Palace as the queen, and she died in less than two months. The side concubine Xue first entered the palace to seal Concubine Qi, and when the queen was gone, she progressed into Concubine Qi Shu and temporarily took pictures of the six palaces. The two Liangdi were each named concubines, and now they are Jiang concubines.

Then Cai Nu was puzzled and asked out loud: "Two Liangdi concubines, how can you only say one Jiang concubine, but what about another one?" ”

The aunt then replied that Empress Yuan was generous by nature, and she always took care of everyone when she was in the prince's mansion. The other concubine thanked the queen for her kindness, and the queen was grieved and emaciated by her death, and then followed.

Pillow Chun was noncommittal in his heart, if this is the case, wouldn't it be a rare loyal and righteous woman.

Later, I heard my aunt say that when His Majesty ascended the throne, he was busy with government affairs and there was no general election, so only the Queen Mother selected two people to enter the palace. A concubine of the Shi family has a bright complexion, and she is quite favored by His Majesty. There is also one who sealed Zhaoyi, and it was a pity that he had a miscarriage when he was pregnant with a dragon heir, and he had two lives in one corpse.

Naturally, my aunt would not say such words as "one corpse and two lives", but only casually said that the production was unfavorable, and she did not even elaborate on her surname.

The rest is the background of the palace maid who is the last to serve in the dress, and naturally she is not qualified to be mentioned, but she said that there is a female official promoted by Queen Yuan, and after being admitted to the inner court, she gave birth to the eldest prince, and she is also the only heir of the emperor today, so she was named a nobleman. In addition, the huge inner court was clearly explained by the aunt of the discipline.

Although it sounds simple, it can be a little bit of a calculation in Zhenchun's heart. Counting Queen Yuan, when today's son ascended the throne for three years, there were a total of seven concubines, either miscarriage or death, and now only four are left. Concubine Qi Shu who was in charge of the six palaces, Concubine Jiang who served in the palace, Concubine Mi selected by the Queen Mother, and Lian who gave birth to the emperor's eldest son but was born as a maidservant...... To be able to gain a firm foothold in it, these four are not easy.

Having said this for a while. In the end, they are all noble girls, and they don't dare to be tired, if he chooses to climb the branch one day, he will be the master. Therefore, after listening to the teaching for an hour, I rested for a while. The place where the rules were taught was in the huge courtyard in the middle of the garden, and more than 30 women sat on stone benches or wooden horses. There were no acquaintances with each other, just looking outside at the tree next to him. After a while, I heard a noisy quarrel next to me, and when I turned around, I saw Su Cainu arguing with someone.

Originally, a few pickers sat on the stone bench, and Su pickers sat on Maza. Su Cainu felt in her heart that Ma Za was a little shorter than the stone bench, and she was unhappy, so she had to change with someone. The picker girl sitting on the stone bench was unwilling, and several people argued. The entire Dongyuan is full of people from the fourth to the sixth grade, and the servant of the Ministry is on the fourth grade hall, which is already a high-level, and Su Cainu moved out of the family background to oppress people, so there are a few arguments that can't be seen.

But he said that although Su Shilang of the Ministry of Officials was powerful, there was a word in the name of the concubine in the family. Why don't you? ”

Su Cainu blushed when she was asked, and said hurriedly: "What does this have to do with you, if I am better than you in terms of family background and appearance, how can I not let the stool sit on me." ”

Another humanitarian: "Seventy or eighty percent of the women here are all five-grade and six-grade courtiers, don't everyone have to give you a seat, if everyone wants to give you a seat, can you sit down?" ”

Su Cainu didn't know how to deal with it, and she saw that she was about to lose her temper, but she was told by several people around her, and she was so angry that she rolled up her sleeves and wanted to scuffle with another Cainu.

At this time, Pillow Chun saw that Aunt Instructor was coming in from outside the garden, so he covered his mouth with his sleeve and said softly: "Yo, isn't this Aunt Instructor coming back?" If you let my aunt look at this thing, I'm afraid that I will make a joke about our Dongyuan. ”

As soon as this voice came out, everyone couldn't tell who said it, but fortunately they all fell silent. Seeing that Su Cainu could stop her hand, she snorted softly, her face full of discomfort.

Although the pickers in the East Garden are pouring into each other, it can be said that the pickers in the East Garden look down on the pickers in the West Garden. The girls in Dongyuan always felt that Dongyuan lived in a noble girl, and they refused to surrender their status.

I listened to my aunt talk about some palace rules and trivialities, and each person gave out a book of palace rules, and it was time for dinner. Everyone saluted their aunt and was about to disperse, the sky was slightly dark, and the palace lights were lit one after another. Before he was about to leave, he saw a jujube-colored shadow outside the two people in front of him crookedly, and collided towards the sharp angle of the table. Then I heard Su Cainu's cry of pain suddenly came.

It was dark and the lights were not lit, and there were thirty women who went from the courtyard to the house together, and no one could see what was going on. Pillow Chun moved two steps without a trace, and when she turned around, she saw Su Cainu fall to the ground, her forehead hitting the corner of the sharp ashlar table, and the pink beads that had been given to her during the day were scattered on the ground, and she was falling in half. The blood flowed down Su Cainu's forehead and covered her eyes. Su Cainu's eyes were red, and she shouted in pain: "Who is it...... Someone pushed me! Who's going to hurt me! ”

The training aunt hadn't gone far yet, and when she heard the voice, she turned back, and when she saw Su Cainu like this, she said a little anxiously: "Why did you hurt your face at this time, and you don't send people to rest, a doctor will come and see!" ”

Then Gong E, who was under the head, stepped forward to help the embarrassed Su Cainu up, but did not send it to the room, but sent it out of the East Garden.

Su Cainu was stunned for a moment, and then cried: "No! I'm not going! I still have to participate in the palace election, and if Your Majesty sees my beauty, he will definitely make me a concubine. Who pushed me, someone pushed me, and someone wanted to harm me. Has anyone seen it...... Someone will see it! ”

Pillow Chun thought about what happened before, Su Cainu offended many people, and even if someone saw it, she wouldn't say it. Su Cainu has the most beautiful appearance among the girls in Dongyuan, if she is the other, wouldn't everyone be happy. Therefore, some people are so presumptuous, so that they have such unscrupulous means.

Sure enough, someone fell into the well.

"But I saw that you didn't stand firm and fell, why did you wronged others."

"Exactly, I also see it clearly, it was you who fell by yourself, and the discipline aunt must be discerning."

When one person speaks, he provokes everyone to say the same, and even if they don't know whether it's true or not, they are said to be true.

The more Su Cainu listened, the more desperate she became, with tears in her eyes: "I'm not leaving, I want the palace, I want to be the imperial concubine." Her pleading eyes swept over everyone one by one, until they stopped on Pillow Chun's face: "An Cai girl...... Sister Anjia! Have you seen that? You help me, help me, help me! ”

Pillow Chun said truthfully: "I really haven't seen it." ”

The aunt seemed to be quite helpless, and the girl who broke her face naturally couldn't be selected, so she was only ready to ask someone to carry her out.

Su Cainu's tears were mixed with blood and the new jujube red dress was stained in one place, and her crying turned into sobbing, and her eyes looked at Pillow Spring with unwillingness.

"Auntie." Pillow Chun still spoke, "It's getting dark at this time, and Su Cainu's clothes are dirty, if you send it out, if others see it, it seems that you misunderstood that your aunt didn't discipline us and caused trouble, it's not beautiful after all." ”

When Zhu Cainu heard it, it was exactly this truth. The girl who was covered in blood and cried and cried was sent out, and if the people in the north and west gardens saw it, they would definitely make a joke. If it is transmitted to the ears of the superiors, they will definitely feel that the Dongyuan girl does not know the general situation, and on the first day, she will have a disgrace, which makes people look down on the Dongyuan. Therefore, they should all say yes.

"Why don't you send Su Cainu back to the house first, change her clothes and wash her face, ask the imperial doctor to come and see it, and then send her back to the house. It's decent to look at like this. Pillow Chun spoke softly and said very reasonably, "In the end, it is the young lady in the Shilang Mansion, and it is always more expensive." ”

When the aunt heard the word squire, she agreed, and sent someone to help Su Cainu back to the house. The crowd whispered something and quietly dispersed.

Pillow Chun was in the same room with her, so he followed in, found a clean dress for her to change, and fetched water to wash her face. When I saw it clearly, a bloody scar from the corner of Su Cainu's eyes to her forehead and a palm-length slap was deeply left on that head, and it didn't take two or three months, and it couldn't be healed. After only a few days of selection, I can't catch up.

Su Cainu finally stopped crying, looked at the mirror and howled again, crying: "My face is ......"

"Naturally, your face can't participate in the temple election." Looking at her appearance, Pillow Chun couldn't help but feel a little angry, "The imperial doctor will come to take medicine in a while, and I will send you back to the house." ”

"I don't, how can I go home?" Su Cainu trembled and fumbled in her makeup, "If I cover it with lead powder...... Maybe you won't be able to see it......"

Pillow Chun knew what she was worried about, so she didn't want to look at it, and said coldly: "You foolish girl, how can lead powder cover new injuries?" If it festers, it is a medicine stone without a cure. Then he admonished, "You have broken your face on the first day, and in a few days you will not break your bones?" Now that the imperial doctor has taken the medicine, it is just a small accident, and it is not a big deal to send it back to the house decently and cleanly. Although your face is injured, it will not be noticeable after a few months. The dignified lady of the Lang Mansion is always unfortunate to marry someone. In the coming year, the husband will take the fame test, wouldn't it be the same scenery? ”

Su Cainu heard it like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, her eyes were very red, and she wiped her tears and said: "My sister is married to Guo Yi Duwei, and my sister is married to the sixth rank member Wailang, how can I only marry a person?" Am I to be inferior to them in all things? If I become a princess, they will salute me—"

"Now that you are injured, it will be three years before you choose the imperial concubine again, can you afford to wait? Three years from now, you might be as beautiful as ever? Pillow Chun persuaded, "Now that there is trouble again, I am afraid that I will be invited out of the palace, the edge is too much to teach people to make a raft, and I hope you will eat a trench and grow wise." ”

Su Cainu was stunned when she heard this, and she also knew that the palace selection was hopeless now, and her body was slumped, so she couldn't stop wiping her tears in the mirror.

Shaoqing Taiyi came, and said that such a serious blood scar could not be selected, and Su Cainu was sent away after only taking medicine.

Pillow Spring lives alone in a room, but he also feels clean. Xu is because of Su Cainu's incident, and in the remaining days, Dongyuan is extremely peaceful, as if the Cainu looks friendly and quiet, and nothing has happened.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the palace election.

Everyone got up early, and the palace eunuch came to read out the name in the morning, so more than 30 women were scattered into five groups, and each group had some fourth, fifth, and sixth family backgrounds, and followed the lead to the small courtyard outside the Yuyuan Hall of Yiren Palace.

Although he came early, he had to wait for the daughters of the nobles and important ministers of Beiyuan to see it, so that he could go to the Dongyuan to pick girls.

Pillow Spring was assigned to the first of the last team, followed by five picking girls, none of whom were particularly outstanding, and the pillow spring was a little bright. She is wearing a blue cardigan plain satin blouse today, and an ivory-colored gold hook treasure fancy Luo skirt. Then Chaoyun was combed a little loosely, tiredly drooping the tail of the bun, decorated with coral beads and flowers, and a pair of small golden hairpins with red treasures inlaid with filigree.

It's best to get it just right.