The side hall of the Taiji Palace in the imperial city

Night. Compared with the coldness and solemnity of the imperial city, the side hall on the right side of the Taiji Palace is a scene of singing and dancing.

Tonight's banquet in the palace is not so much a family banquet within the royal family, but rather a special purpose to help the princes of the right age to find concubines.

There is no specific mechanism for choosing concubines on the spot, and a small banquet like this is held almost once or twice a year, all for the purpose of helping the royal family members choose a marriage partner.

The red gold lacquer auspicious pattern dragon chair in the north of the hall sits on the chair, a ochre yellow is the saint of today, and the one sitting on his right side is a woman who is more than 30 years old, with a beautiful posture of seven points, dignified and noble, just look at the unique and complex phoenix-shaped hairpin ring that falls from her temples, you can know its identity.

This thirteen-year-old married to the current saint, and now he is the mother of the world. The eldest grandson queen of the harem is not only a virtuous table in the eyes of hundreds of officials, but also a benevolent mother in the eyes of the people.

The distance between the lower left of the dragon chair is two-column seats, according to the age position, the prince, the king of Chu Li Kuan, the king of Wu Li Ke, the king of Wei Li Tai, the king of Qi Li You and other princes and princesses.

Sitting opposite, it is the concubines of various high-ranking positions in the palace as the middle, and the three or five cases are put together as a seat, and there are exceptions, such as the three sisters of the eldest grandson's family, who live alone.

In a corner of the hall, court musicians played various musical instruments. In the open space in the hall, several good-looking women were dancing with soothing music, waving the long shawls in their hands.

Concubine Yang, who usually talks the most in the banquet, is still full of witty words today, enlivening the atmosphere in the banquet, and the daughters around her look up from time to time to pass through the dancing girls in the hall, look at the prince sitting opposite, and then smile and whisper to each other.

Changsun Xian withdrew her gaze from the seat opposite, and glanced at Changsun Xi, who was sitting next to her and was turning around to laugh with the young lady in the back seat, the smile on her face stagnated, and when she inhaled, there was a faint fragrance that she had smelled in the chess competition that day.

The two sisters did not travel together that morning, only after the competition. Changsun Xian smelled the little residual fragrance on Changsun Xi's body, and she only felt as if she had smelled it at the time, and when she remembered where she smelled it, the smell on Changsun Xi's body disappeared again.

Before tonight's banquet, the two sisters entered the palace in the same car, and she smelled the aroma again, only to realize that there was something wrong with her nose, and she wanted to ask her all the way, but because of the second sister who was in the same car, there was no exit.

"Huh? Did the third lady change the incense? Let me smell it. The young lady who was talking to Changsun Xi smelled the smell of Changsun Xi because the two of them were close.

Changsun Xian looked sideways, and under the lights of the hall, Changsun Xi's white and tender little face first flushed a little red, and then nodded generously and admitted:

"Yes, I always had a bad rest a while ago, and the shopkeeper of Xiangyi Pavilion helped me look around for incense with a calming effect, and really let them find one in a time-honored store in Luoyang, and it was sent to the house a few days ago, and I burned it with a stove. When I first heard it, I liked it very much, and I slept soundly at night. ”

The young lady pulled the sleeve of Changsun Xi's shirt and sniffed it carefully, and praised: "It's not glamorous, it's light and light, it's really a good spice!" Hey, I also want to change the incense recently, but I can't find a good one, why don't you help me talk to the shopkeeper of the Xiangyi Pavilion, and next time I find a good one, let me do it. ”

Changsun Xi was about to answer, when he heard Changsun Xian's complaining voice sounding on the side:

"Xi'er is not resting well, why don't you talk to my sister, since this incense has a calming effect, why is it only used today."

Changsun Xi pulled the sleeve out of the young lady's hand, turned around and hugged Changsun Xian's arm affectionately, and said:

"It's just a trivial matter, tell the eldest sister that I'm afraid of disturbing my father and mother again, my father is busy with business, I don't want him to worry about me anymore - I am satisfied with this incense, and I use it every night, but this fragrance is strangely tight, and the unusual incense can easily dye the body, and my clothes tonight, but it took two days to get a little fragrance."

Speaking of this, her face was a little depressed, "I'm afraid that once this banquet is over, the fragrance on my body will be gone, so I can only go back and burn it with the incense burner." ”

Eldest Sun Xian frowned secretly. said on his lips: "Your head is very smart on weekdays, why is there still a time when we are confused, are we so poor in our house, and dyeing multiple pieces of clothes all day is not enough for you to wear every day, so how many days do you have to smoke one?" ”

Eldest Sun Xi shook her arm, "I think so, eldest sister doesn't know, it is extremely rare for Xiangyi Pavilion to find this spice for me, saying that there is only a little supply every month, how can it be enough for me to lavender every day." ”

The conversation between the two sisters was heard by Concubine Yang, who stopped laughing and drinking, she waved her hand and beckoned to the eldest grandson, and said with a smile:

"What a good thing, come over at night, let this palace also see and understand."

Changsun Xi responded obediently, and was about to get up, but Changsun Xian suddenly grabbed her wrist, and when she asked with her eyes, her expression changed slightly, and she let go of her hand again, and said:

"Slow down, don't stumble."

***

Li Tai walks through the dancing girl with a folded cloth and a ring of incense. After looking at the women's seat opposite for a while with an expressionless face, he held a pot in one hand and a cup in the other, and slowly poured wine into the white jade cup painted with crane patterns.

Half-kneeling behind him was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man dressed as a eunuch, who secretly raised his eyes to look at his own master, who had never drunk at this kind of banquet, and said in a very soft voice when he was sending a third glass of wine to his lips:

"Master, but I feel that the hall is stuffy, why don't you go outside to breathe?"

I heard this somewhat ugly voice. After Li Tai drank half of the wine in the cup, he put the white jade cup on the table, stroked the hem of his clothes with one hand, and stood up.

Nearly half of the people in the hall were secretly watching Li Tai's every move, and when they saw him get up and leave the table, the voice of the person suddenly lowered for a moment, and then resounded again as if nothing had happened.

The middle-aged eunuch held Li Tai's fur on the blanket, bowed down in small steps, bypassed the banquet, and followed.

On the side of the side of the Taiji Palace, there is a small garden, there are very few flowers and plants, most of them are evergreen trees, after the middle-aged eunuch entered the garden, the ears under the hat shook slightly, and the body that bowed flat just now straightened up for three points, and strode towards the bright moon in front of him under the half-hung tree, a bright blue man.

"Master." After the disguise, Ah Sheng did not use the pretended ugly voice to grind people's ears, "If you are tired, let's leave the table first." ”

Ah Sheng could clearly perceive that the unpredictable emotions of the person in front of him were clearly fluctuating.

Li Tai did not respond, but raised his head and looked at the west, the other end of the palace wall, the hall that was blurred and difficult to distinguish in the night, that was the direction of the harem, and his face showed a look that had never been seen before, a look that could be called sadness, shallow but heavy.

Ah Sheng, who had watched him grow up almost since he was a child, sighed secretly after his complicated face for a while, and said:

"If so... You don't have to—"

"Be careful." After Li Tai spoke, his exposed expression immediately retracted, and he pulled the coat he was holding. As you put on your body, you walked towards the exit on the other side of the garden.

"Go and report it, this king is unwell, go back to the house first."

***

Besides, the remaining jade was sent to the gate of Guiyi Fang by Du Ruojin, and after returning by the carriage of the secret house, his mind was taken up by the letter that Lu Zhi received outside Cheng's mansion.

What kind of urgency made people find Cheng Mansion, and Lu Zhi was in a hurry, so he had to ask Du Ruojin to send her. Her instinct told her that it must have something to do with the rumors she had heard in the shed in the morning, could it be that their identities were known to outsiders?

"Miss, you don't have to practice archery today, do you?" Pingtong asked, holding a bowl of hot soup that had been brewed since noon in both hands.

"Hmm."

The competition of archery and chess skills has been successfully passed, even if you want to practice, you don't have to rush for a while, practice in this secret house, although the time of chess shooting with Li Tai makes her comfortable, but intellectually, she knows very well that the day when Li Tai's nightmare is lifted is approaching, and it is best to have less contact.

There are only tomorrow's arithmetic and the final ritual art left in the nine arts competition, Lu Zhi knew that she was not good at learning in the nine palaces, but he was not worried that she would leak, but told her that the remaining two competitions should not come out.

This year's Tai Academy can be said to have gained a lot, and five woodcuts have fallen into its pocket, breaking the record of two woodcuts last time because Lu Zhi took two woodcuts, which is something that has never happened in the five academies since the beginning.

The injured Cheng Xiaofeng also secretly told her today that the first and second courtyards of the five academies of the art competition this time seemed to have some benefits waiting for them, this first academy was undoubtedly too learning, and the second position was targeted by the remaining four academies.

After Yiyu drank a bowl of hot soup, he went to the study to practice calligraphy, waiting for Li Tai, who went to the palace for a banquet, to come back, firstly to help him with medicine, and secondly, to thank the other party for his guidance in archery these days.

It's just that after a while, no one came back, and Yi Yu thought of what Cheng Xiaofeng told her about the family banquet in the palace that she was absent from tonight due to injury, looking at the delicate little words on the table, she shook her head gently.

Pingtong and Pinghui looked at the hour, glanced at each other, and said to the Yu Yu who began to yawn:

"Miss, Steward Li instructed before leaving, if you haven't come back yet, let the slaves and maids tell you, let you rest first."

"Okay, then let's wash and sleep." didn't wait for anyone, Yi Yu ignored the slight loss in her heart, and after washing, she lay on the bed, Ren Pingtong rubbed her arms with medicinal wine, and slowly fell asleep.

An hour later, the small building fell silent, and there was a bright blue figure isolated under the window of the west house, with one hand on the window, and in the flames of the eaves, there was a handsome face with a light brow.

(Go back on the weekend.,It'll be updated on Monday.,Wait a little longer) (!) )